


Even the Best Fall Down

by sizhu



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, M/M, universe altered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-07 15:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 51,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sizhu/pseuds/sizhu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sawada Nana picks up her life, calls Reborn for help, and sets to work bettering herself and her son. If she has anything to say about it, everything is going to change. Besides, who better to call for help than the tall, handsome Italian who claimed to be a friend of her husband's, who offered to help her years ago at her wedding?</p><p>She's had enough of the secrets and the lies, and she can sure as Hell take care of herself and Tsuna. After all, she's been doing it for years, why would an official divorce make any difference?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. you and i collide

The party had gotten obnoxiously loud. Newlyweds Sawada Nana and Iemitsu were still celebrating their recent wedding, but Iemitsu had gotten obnoxiously drunk and was particularly loud. Nana herself was smiling, politely laughing at Iemitsu's terriblejokes, but she was generally quiet and reserved. 

In fact, she was so quiet that no one noticed when she was gently pulled aside and disappeared from the rest of the party goers. The young brunette followed the mysterious Italian away from the crowd, not at all concerned about strangers. She'd seen this man before, on a few occasions while she and Iemitsu were still in university, and he had seemed the trustworthy type. Ah, but what was his name... Red...? No, uhm... Roberto? Definitely not... Rafael? She shook her head. Wrong again. Just what was his name...?

"Reborn." The other man finally spoke. 

Oh! Right, that was it. She knew it was something different like that. 

"Reborn-san, I'm sorry." Nana smiled, bowing slightly. "It's just been so long, and we've never had a real conversation before."

"Don't worry about it." Reborn shrugged nonchalantly, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He pulled a card from his suit pocket and handed it to Nana. "I just pulled you away to give you my card, that's all. Iemitsu isn't the... Most tactful of people, so it's possible that he could get into trouble sometime. If you get dragged into that trouble, call me. The moron is really fond of you, and it would be a shame if something happened to such a pretty innocent bystander."

Nana giggles, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.She took his card regardless before gently sliding it securely in one of the folds of her gown. "You're just saying that because I'm all dolled up and in my wedding dress, Reborn-san. But I really don't see what kind of trouble my husband could possibly get into. He works at oil fields overseas, right?"

Reborn thanked his many, many years of training that he didn't flinch. This poor woman. She really knew absolutely nothing. That moron Iemitsu has been keeping her in the dark the whole time they've been together. He should fucking tell her; what if they have a kid? Doesn't Iemitsu know who that kid is going to be? Instead of flinching, Reborn sighed. If Iemitsu was going to keep the woman – his "cute, wonderful, perfect Nana" - in the dark for the rest of her life, someone was going to have to watch over her and her future children. Reborn had the sinking feeling that the task would fall to him because he'll be the one bringing it up. 

"...Yeah." Reborn frowned as he confirmed Nana’s delusion. "Regardless, call me if anything dangerous happens." 

Or if you need anything. Fuck, he was already starting to think of her as a kid sister or some shit. Nono was going to laugh at him – actually, the entire Vongola was going to laugh at him. 

"Well, thank you, Reborn-san, for your concern." Nana smiled up at him brightly (far too brightly)."I won't lose your card, and I'll definitely call you if I need anything. But I should probably get back to my husband now."

Not that he'd noticed she'd gone missing...

The brunette newlywed turned and padded off to return to Iemitsu with a delighted bounce in her step. Reborn had to wonder how she even managed to pull that off in those heels and that dress. He certainly hoped their kid – if they had one – took after her, because grace was not something Iemitsu had.

Reborn sighed and adjusted his fedora before walking toward where Vongola Nono had been watching the wedding like a fond old man – grandfather, even. Reborn rolled his eyes at the idea. Sometimes he wondered (only rarely) if he even knew he was the boss of a mafia organization so powerful that it rivaled even Cosa Nostra.

"How did it go, Reborn?" The old man smiled genially when Reborn sat next to him.

"She doesn't know anything," Reborn grunted, pulling his fedora down to shield his eyes. "The moron – your young lion – has kept her completely in the dark. She believes he's an oil miner for Christ's sake. Look at the idiot – he's not even wearing a suit, just that stupid miner's costume. What kind of dumb ass wears a miner's costume to his own wedding?"

Timoteo just laughed and pat Reborn on the back. "You sound worried about her."

"He's deliberately putting an innocent woman – his wife – in danger by keeping her in the dark." 

The old man next to him sighed, and nodded. "That's why I want you to keep an eye out for her. I know you have a lot of assignments as it is, but you're the only one I trust to look out for the Sawada family."

The two of them watched Iemitsu laugh and joke around, Nana going back to her routine of politely laughing at jokes she didn't quite understand. The sight made Reborn uncomfortable. Just how much, other than his work, was the man keeping from her? His friends, sure. That was clear when Nana had forgotten his name, even though they'd met a handful of times before. Even Timoteo seemed mildly discomfited by the idea that Iemitsu was nothing but secrets and lies to his young wife. Just what was Vongola's Young Lion thinking?

Not much, apparently. 

Reborn hoped that one day, Nana would learn everything. That she'd understand and even be open to the idea of being part of the Vongola, whether directly or indirectly. The Italian sighed, standing up. "I need a drink."

"You always need a drink, Reborn." Timoteo chuckled softly. 

"Well, then I need to talk to someone."

"That's a first," Timoteo mused, looking up at Reborn. "Go, do what you need to do."

Reborn nodded and left, shoving his hands in his pockets in the process. Today was turning out to be a God damn nightmare, joyous occasion aside. Sure, weddings were great, but the idiot blond that was the groom... Reborn wanted to strangle him. He really did. 

Putting a bullet in his brain would be nice, too. It would be damn fantastic, actually. But, unfortunately, murdering the groom at his own wedding was generally frowned upon. 

And that was the very reason why Reborn hunted down Iemitsu's best man to enlist his assistance in what was now officially an assignment to protect Sawada Nana and her future offspring. Yamamoto Tsuyoshi wasn't a hard man to find. Occasionally, he could be just as boisterous as Iemitsu, and in this case, he was. 

Without so much as a proper greeting, Reborn dragged Tsuyoshi away from the laughing crowd. Gone was all the gentle grace that was used to escort Nana away. Tsuyoshi barely protested, if at all. He may have been drinking, but he wasn't plastered like Iemitsu was. And even if he was drunk, he knew better than to struggle against Reborn. Once they were far enough away from the crowd, Reborn let Tsuyoshi go. The retired assassin-turned-sushi-chefcasually brushed his suit clean of any imaginary dust before meeting Reborn's gaze. 

"What could be so important that you felt the need to literally drag the best man away from his best friend's wedding party?" Tsuyoshi folded his arms, only mildly annoyed. If it was Reborn, it was definitely important, and no laughing matter.

"The moron hasn't told his wife anything." The words were simple, clear cut.

"...She has no idea he works for Vongola?"

"Absolutely none. She believes he's an oil miner." Reborn mirrored the folding of Tsuyoshi's arms. His expression was stern, but his eyes betrayed his anger. 

"...Does he realize how much danger he's putting her in?" Tsuyoshi was baffled. Then, his expression melted into furious concern. "She's pregnant, Reborn. That's why they got married today, right at this very moment. If he hasn't told her anything, he's putting not only her, but their unborn child in danger, too."

Reborn scowled. So Iemitsu was a horn dog AND a moron.

"I told my wife everything before I even thought about marrying her," Tsuyoshi continued. "So she would know exactly what she was getting into and so she could feel free to leave if she felt it was too dangerous. And you know what? She married me anyways, and now we're expecting a child ourselves."

"Be that as it may, Iemitsu hasn't breathed a word of it." Reborn hissed under his breath. "And to your credit, you're not an idiot like he is."

"Fair enough." Tsuyoshi uncrossed his arms. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Nono has me on assignment to keep an eye on Nana, but you're well aware I can't be here and do my other assignments at the same time." Reborn shoved his hands in his pockets, scowling again. "So I need you to look out for her, too. Nono said I'm the only one he trusts, but he also trusts my judgment, and I trust you. Besides, Nana knows you. She and your wife are friends. She doesn't know me, at least, she acted like she didn't, if her forgetting my name is any indication."

"Seriously?" Tsuyoshi blinked. Reborn wasn't an easy person to forget. "Yeah, sure, no problem. But we'd better get back to the party or we'll be missed. They're starting up dances again, and you know how my wife loves to dance, even if she is pregnant. We'll continue this conversation later."

Reborn nodded, and they both headed back to the party, both in particularly sour moods. At least, they were until they were both dragged onto the dance floor, one by his wife, the other by the bride.

"...Nana, what are you doing?"

"My husband is so drunk he can barely stand up." Nana laughed, a light, airy sound that resembled a gently ringing wind chime. "And we've already had our dance. You didn't come here with anyone, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a dance! Besides, this kind of feels like dancing with an older brother. I've never had an older brother before! How exciting!"

Reborn chuckled softly, feeling the tension drain away. "If that's what you want me to be, so be it."

Well, this turn of events would certainly make his job of watching over her a lot easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Another new project when I should be working on current ones. But this was originally my NaNoWriMo project that went unfinished - I made it almost halfway there, really, and the fic is almost, if not a little more, than halfway done already.


	2. i'll be at your door tonight if you need help

Sawada Tsunayoshi was something of a mystery. He looked like his mother: petite, dainty, and wide brown eyes, but he lacked all of her grace.In fact, his grace was so lackluster it was worse than even his father’s. Nana wasn’t sure why her son was so inclined to clumsiness – falling down the stairs on his way from his bedroom to the front door was almost a daily occurrence. Sometimes it even occurred twice a day. But, Tsuna generally seemed fine, and would bounce back up, shout something along the lines of “I’m late, I’m gonna die! I’m totally getting bitten to death!” before bolting right out the door and forgetting his lunch. 

Peace and quiet was a blessing right at the moment, though, as Nana was sure her son was upstairs (hopefully) studying. She loved Tsuna dearly, he was her son, but she had to wonder how he hadn’t been kicked out of school for his abysmal grades yet. Her son was by _no_ means _stupid_ , but if he just _applied_ himself… Just what was going on at school that made him so apathetic toward life in general? She had tried asking once, but he wouldn’t give her any clear answers. Oh, how she wished her son would talk to her. Maybe she should hire a tutor or a life coach, something like that to help Tsuna get a kick back into life. 

Maybe Reborn could help her? He did say to call him if she needed any help, and she definitely needed it. Besides, Tsuna knew Reborn, so it would be much easier to get him to open up with a familiar face than a complete stranger. 

Now… Where did she put that phone number…?

  
  


Tsuna was lazily sprawled out, prone on his bed and casually flipping through a comic book. The TV was on, but he wasn’t really paying much attention to it. It was more of a pleasant background buzz that occasionally had him dozing off only to jerk awake again and resume his reading. He could be studying right now. He _should_ be studying. But what was the point in studying if you were going to fail anyways and your peers would sing rude chants and throw jabs at you whether you failed or succeeded? After all, if you were a useless, no-good fish, why would you even try in the first place? You’re destined to fail, right? 

At least, that’s what Tsuna had going through his mind. And his frame of mind had been proven right again and again and again. It had happened so often that he just gave up. He still had to _go_ to school, of course, otherwise he was pretty sure a certain prefect would be kicking down his door to drag him there _anyways_. So why not just save him the trouble and drag himself there?

Tsuna sighed and turned another page in his comic book, hardly even registering the sound of words interrupting his daze. He didn’t want to go to school on Monday. Couldn’t every day just be Saturday forever and ever? He could just sit in his room and play video games until he died of inactivity. He wouldn’t mind that. At least he’d die doing something – the one thing – he really enjoyed. 

The brunet was jerked out of his thoughts as the TV was suddenly cut off. That pleasant buzz in the background disappeared, leaving him with no excuse to zone out and let his mind wander. Which, considering the train of thought he’d just been derailed from,was probably for the best. 

The teen closed his comic book and put it away, sitting up only to see his mother cleaning up his room. Panic seized his heart with icy claws. Oh no. If she kept cleaning, she’d find _another_ failed test that he’d tried to hide (he should remember to shred those things when he gets them…). 

“Mom, oh my god, can’t you knock!” Tsuna bolted out of his bed and tried to beat her to cleaning the rest of this room. Normally he wouldn’t be so motivated to clean, but he _had_ to keep that test hidden at all costs! _Operation: Hide that Test!_

“I _did_ knock, Tsu-kun,” Nana chided gently, picking up his clothes and putting them in the disusedlaundry basket in the corner. She blithely ignored his valiant effort to clean up the rest of his own room. She’d already started, so there was no point in stopping. “You didn’t answer. If you left your door open, I wouldn’t have to knock, and you would hear me calling you from the kitchen.” 

Tsuna winced. Oh. He did have the TV on, didn’t he…? Shoot. 

“Moooom, I can clean my own room,” Tsuna whined, trying desperately to get his well-meaning, but soon-to-be disappointed mother out of his room. He loved her, he didn’t want to disappoint her any more than he already head. 

“You can prove that to me next week, sweetie.” Nana waved Tsuna off. “I’ve already started. If you really want to help, you can run the vacuum after I’m done.” 

The brunette advanced toward Tsuna’s desk. Tsuna panicked. He hadn’t hid the test very well. The corner of the paper was sticking ominously out of an overstuffed drawer. Tsuna dove for his desk to get to it before his mother, eyes wide in terror. But he tripped over an empty soda can and hit his chin on the edge of the desk while his mother pulled the seemingly innocuous paper (it was his death sentence, he swore!) out of the drawer. 

The paper was dripping with red ink, and nearly every question was marked wrong. In the top right corner was a single digit number, a seven, circled in angry red three times. Tsuna’s eyes watered and he hung his head in shame. It was too late. Nana had already seen it. She was going to be so disappointed in him. Again. Why didn’t he throw it away?

“Tsu-kun, this needs to be signed and returned to your teacher…” Nana trailed off, studying the test with a critical eye.

Oh. Right. That’s why he didn’t throw it away. He had been meaning to try forging his mother’s signature to hide it so she wouldn’t be disappointed in him again. 

“Mom…” Tsuna whined piteously. “It’s math… I’m _really, really_ bad at math… No matter how hard I study.” 

“Tsu-kun…” Nana turned to face her son. “This is a seven. Honey, this is your worst test yet.”

Tsuna flinched, recoiling back away from his mother and rubbing his chin from where he’d hit the desk moments earlier.He chewed on his lip, watching his mother through his hair with his head hanging. 

“I’m calling a tutor, Tsu-kun.” Nana nodded, determined.

“What? No! Don’t, please!” Tsuna begged. “I’ll study longer and try hard. Please don’t call a tutor I’ll be laughed at even more than I already am!”

“He’s already on his way.” Nana shook her head before standing up as straight as she could, smiling. She held up the test. “And this, this I’m going to make a copy of and frame it.” 

Tsuna’s face morphed into absolute mortification. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened in terror. “Mom! Why would you do that!” 

“Because when the tutor I’ve hired is done with you, you’ll be making A’s. And when you do, this seven and your first A will be hanging up side by side.” Nana turned to leave the room, a bounce in her step, proud of her planning. 

And with the tutor that she hired, well… Tsuna definitely wouldn’t be able to run and hide from him. Not only was he _family,_ but he gave a damn about Tsuna, even if he didn’t _officially_ come around a lot (Nana had spotted him observing from afar like some kind of comic book vigilante detective or something, it was really quite cute. One day she would tell him so).

"Don’t forget to finish cleaning up, since you’re so determined!” Nana sang, smiling. She giggled quietly as she heard Tsuna groan (quite loudly) in frustration. She imagined he was tugging at his hair right about now. Her smile only grew when she heard the vacuum switch on, signaling that Tsuna was doing as she’d asked him to.

She wasn’t disappointed in him, no. He always thought she was, but she understood. Studies were hard, they really were, but Tsuna could do _so much better_ if he just _applied_ himself. But, she understood that when you’re thirteen, motivation is really difficult to come by. Especially with all the distractions of video games and TV and comic books. Friends, even, but Nana was disheartened to be aware of the fact that Tsuna really… Didn’t _have_ any friends. She hoped her choice of tutor would help her with that, too. 

Nana was pleasantly pulled from her thoughts, temporarily, when the doorbell rang. Ah, that must be him. He certainly was punctual, almost to the point of _early_. The brunette smiled, padding to the door. When she opened it, she greeted Reborn with a bright smile. 

Reborn stood at the door, lips pressed into a thin line. He was dressed in his usual black suit: suit jacket, black slacks, orange button-up, and black tie. Atop his head was his usual fedora, and his sideburns were curled in their usual fashion. He looked just as he always did, dashing in all the right ways with just a pinch of intimidation. Well, the intimidation factor worked on _most_. Nana, however, was blind to it. This man could never scare her. They’d been friends since her wedding, and he always treated her with gentle care, like some kind of kid sister, much to her delight. 

“Reborn-san, I’m so glad you could make it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! I'm sorry this took so long to add this chapter. I'll try to get to this one - or Residuum or Borderline - every Sunday. I'm trying, but since I've officially declared my major, college got harder. So much reading to do, man. So much reading. 'Tis the life of an English major. @_@


	3. that's where hope lies

“Please, come inside.” Nana stepped aside to allow Reborn into her home, smiling all the while. She really did miss her supposed older-brother (he always did see himself as that). She closed the door behind the Italian, humming softly. “Make yourself at home, Reborn-san. I’ll call Tsuna down.”

Reborn nodded slightly, acknowledging Nana’s hospitality as she hummed her way to the stairs. He shrugged off his jacket, hanging it on the coat rack by the door,and placed his hat on top of it before sliding his hands into the pockets of his designer slacks, looking around the house from the foyer and slowly expanding inward. He wouldn’t make himself comfortable until he’d made sure that the house was perfectly safe and normal. Everything seemed to be in normal working order, but he noticed that there were some big changes that had been made since the last time he’d been inside.

“Nana, where’s your wedding photo?” Reborn asked, effectively stopping her from getting to the stairs. He watched as she turned around, a little stiffly, and gave a smile that was, in his opinion, a little too forced to be her usual happy self.

“It’s been a year since he last came to visit, so I figured I’d put it away until he decides to come around again.” She sighed, and turned to the kitchen, leaving Tsuna to finish his cleaning, unaware that his tutor was already in the house. “You know he wanted me to tell Tsuna he’d joined the stars?”

“… That idiot.” Reborn muttered, following the petite woman. “Did you?”

“No. I told Tsuna the truth, that he asked me to say that.” Nana pulled a mug from a cabinet over the sink and started a pot of coffee to brew – Classic Italian Roast, as per the hit man’s silent request. “I love my husband, Reborn-san, I really do, but Tsuna needs a father. I can only do so much.”

“Nana…”

“A father would be able to help him with school, you know.” She didn’t let Reborn cut her off. She mixed the creamer into Reborn’s coffee, and followed that up with a dash of sugar. Nana then placed the mug on the table for Reborn’s pleasure. For herself, she made a pot of tea, piping hot and with honey. She needed something soothing for this talk.

“Tsuna doesn’t think I know, but I’ve seen the bruises he comes home with and I’ve washed far too many bloodstains out of his clothes. Too many and too big to be simple trips down the stairs or a fall on the sidewalk here and there.” She sat down across from Reborn and sipped at her tea carefully.

“That’s why you called me?” Reborn took a sip of his own beverage, pleased that Nana got the amount of sugar and creamer right (she always did, of course, even after years of not making it).

“Yes.” Nana paused. “Well, yes and no. His grades are…”

“Pitiful?”

“…That’s one word for it, I suppose.” She nodded, gripping her cup and sipping it occasionally, but her hands shook. Reborn was surprised the tea didn’t slosh over.

“And you want me to tutor him to get his grades up.” Reborn _knew_ that already. Nana had mentioned as much during their phone call.

“Please, Reborn-san…” Nana’s eyes watered, and her hands were still shaking. “Help him. Someone is hurting my baby every day at school and I’m helpless to stop it, and even if I could help him, Tsuna won’t talk to me…”

“You already are helping him.” Reborn reached across the table and touched his fingers to the edge of Nana’s cup, gently pressuring the brunette to put the cup down before she dropped it or spilled tea everywhere. He could see the woman visibly relax, and he was pleased. “You called me, didn’t you? You don’t pressure him into talking, and you make sure his clothes don’t have the blood in them that will remind him of whatever he took the day before. You’re doing more than enough, Nana. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Thank you, Reborn-san…” A tear slipped down Nana’s cheek asshe hung her head. “Thank you so much…”

“Don’t worry, Nana.” Reborn offered her an affectionate smile, though she couldn’t see it with her bangs in the way. “I’ll handle it. When I’m through, Tsuna will be more than capable of defending himself, though he shouldn’t need to. Not by the time I’m done.”

“Ah… Thank you…” Nana wiped her cheeks and lifted her head, smiling, though it was still shaky. “…What do you have in mind for him, Reborn-san…? …Will you be staying?”

“I can, if you like. It would certainly make tutoring him easier.” Reborn nodded. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, offering it to Nana. She took it gratefully, wiping her eyes.

“…Stay, please. It’ll be nice to have a man around again, especially one I consider a brother.” Nana regained herself, and she gently swatted Reborn’s hand away from her cup so she could take another sip of her tea.

“Then I’ll stay.” Reborn returned to his own cup. Given Nana’s condition, the hitman wished she would have called him sooner. How many nights had she cried herself to sleep feeling that she could do nothing to ease her son’s suffering? How many days had she spent diligently washing blood out of clothes – blood that should not have been there in the first place? But, he supposed it was good that she had finally called him. Better late than never, he thought.

“Ah, do you have any kind of… Maybe a plan?” Nana sounded hopeful. “For Tsuna, I mean…”

“Well, that depends.” Reborn closed his eyes, thinking. “Do you want me to focus on his grades first or the other problem?”

“What do you think would be best…?” Nana chewed on her lip.

“I’m not a parent, Nana. I can’t tell you what is best for your son.”

“…Do you think…? Maybe you could juggle both…?” Nana hid her hopeful expression behind her cup of tea.

“Yes, I can.” Reborn opened his eyes, finishing off his coffee before placing the mug gently on the table. “That would be preferable to me, actually. I was taught that to train the body you had to train the mind, and vice versa.”

“Ah, Reborn-san…” Nana sighed in relief, placing her cup down when it was finally empty. It clinked delicately against the wood of the table. “You’re a saint, a godsend. What would I do without you?”

Reborn gave a soft snort coupled with an amused smile. “You’re stronger than you think you are, Nana. Iemitsu is a fool, leaving you alone like this.”

“I suppose…” Nana sighed. “I love him, Reborn-san, truly, but… I wish he was _home_. I know he’s not an oil miner. I know what he does is dangerous.”

Reborn arched his eyebrows, surprised. How much did Nana know, and how did she find out? He leaned back in his chair. “And you found this out…?”

“I was filing our financial records and one day noticed that he sends us far more than an oil miner’s salary. Besides, he’s an associate of yours. And you’re _far_ from blue collar work.” Nana sighed again, closing her eyes. “I’m not entirely sure _what_ it is he does, but I know it’s dangerous, and I know that he’s been lying to me about it since before we were married. I would have married him anyways, you know. If he told me the truth. Ah—but we need to get Tsuna started, I think. He’s probably run out of things to clean in his room by now. I’ll go get him, okay? Help yourself to more coffee, if you want it.”

Reborn nodded, chuckling. He stood up and walked to the coffee pot, refilling his mug from the still-hot carafe. He watched as Nana got up herself and padded back over to the stairs. She was still a little shaky, but that was understandable. Her son was a victim every single day, and on top of that, his grades were affected. His _mood_ was apparently being affected as well. If not, then Reborn would _truly_ be surprised.

But despite Nana’s shakiness, she was strong. She was determined in her steps and firm in her decision. She had taken the step to call Reborn, and she was _certain,_ without a doubt, that things would start to improve, that Tsuna would learn to love life again.

“Tsu-kun!” Nana called from the bottom of the stairs. She waited, but when she didn’t get a reply, she padded halfway up them, hand on the railing and called again, “ _Tsu-kun!_ ”

“Sorry, sorry!” Tsuna shouted, stumbling out of his room to make it to the stairs before he was called a third time.

“Tsu-kun, your tutor is here, come down and meet him.” Nana smiled, wearing a professional mask of calm and control. It wouldn’t do for her son to see that she’d recently been on the verge of crying.

Tsuna groaned, tugging at his hair. “Moooooom, do I _have_ to? Do I _really need_ a tutor…?”

“Ask that question to the seven on your math test, honey.” Nana’s tone was gentle, but it was firm enough to let Tsuna know that this was _not_ up for discussion. _Something_ had to be done, and this was her solution.

Tsuna whimpered, following his mother down the stairs and into the kitchen. “Ugh, _fiiiine…_ ”

Reborn arched his eyebrow, smirking. “You’re still as scrawny as ever, Tsuna.”

Tsuna froze. Looked up. Stared. Tsuna really, _really_ stared. And then he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to prove he was just hallucinating because his uncle was surely not standing in the kitchen, drinking coffee like he lived there. When the Reborn mirage didn’t disappear, Tsuna’s frowned.

“Oh _hell_ no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It won't be for a good while, but I thought it would be prudent to give a warning that, once this fic gets caught up with the chapters I've already written and edited, this fic, Borderline, and Residuum will be on Sunday rotations, since I don't have enough time to work on all three at once. 
> 
> But I still have nine more chapters of this that are already written and rarin' to go. I'm still only going to post on Sundays, though. Gives me time to work on the fics and time to do my homework.


	4. can you tell me what was ever really special about me

“Is that any way to greet your favorite uncle, Tsuna?” Reborn chuckled softly, following Tsuna as he turned around to walk right back up the stairs from where he’d originally come.

“You’re my _only_ uncle.” Tsuna huffed, bounding up the stairs two at a time. Or, trying to. He slipped and stumbled backward down the stairs, falling right into his uncle’s chest with a breathless wheeze. Well, at least his creepy uncle prevented him from crashing down the stairs and into the floor.

“All the more reason for me to be your favorite. Only one you got.” Reborn righted Tsuna and ruffled his hair before leading him back downstairs. “Come on, Tsuna, help your mother with dinner.”

Reborn led the teen into the kitchen, intending to help Nana with dinner and setting the table. Nana, however, waved them off. “Don’t worry, Tsu-kun, Reborn-san, I’ve got this. You two catch up and discuss tutoring. I don’t want to see another seven on a math test, Tsu-kun~. I know you can do better.”

Tsuna grumbled in dissatisfaction and plopped down at the table. Reborn sat across from him, resting his elbows on the table and bridging his fingers. “A seven, Tsuna?”

“…Math is hard.” Tsuna looked away, lower lip poking out and brows furrowed together. “And the teacher constantly calls on me when I don’t know an answer.”

“Do you study?” Reborn wanted to make sure that Tsuna’s problem wasn’t something that could be solved so simply. If it was just a matter of studying, there was no reason for him to be tutoring in the first place.

“I try to, but I don’t understand the material.” Tsuna folded his arms, glaring at his uncle. Except, it looked more like a pout and genuine distress than frustration or any animosity toward Reborn himself. “I’m just useless, no-good, stupid Tsuna, after all. I’ll never understand the material, even when I do study.”

Reborn narrowed his eyes, though his face remained passive as ever. He slowly lowered his hands and rested them on the table. Crossing his legs, he leaned back in his chair and picked up his previously neglected cup of coffee. “And who says these things about you?”

Tsuna ignored the cold anger in Reborn’s posture, shrugging. He refused to make eye contact, instead looking at everything in the room _but_ his uncle. Did it really matter who called him what and when? They were all right, anyways. They had been proven right time and time again, and yet Reborn was questioning him, making him feel that his peers were, yet again, far more right than they realized.

“Well?” Reborn tapped his finger on the table, drawing Tsuna’s attention back to the present. “Who says these things?”

Tsuna shrugged. “Everyone, so it must be true.”

“Bullshit.”

Tsuna jumped at the sharp tone of Reborn’s voice. He looked at his uncle in terror, but held himself firm. “Even some of the teachers say it, and the teacher is always right, aren’t they?”

“No.” Reborn leaned forward. “No, they’re wrong. You and I both know that – your mother knows that. And, starting on Monday, we’re going to prove that you’re not as stupid as your peers think you are. As for your teachers? We’ll blow them out of the fucking water.”

“Reborn-san, please.” Nana chided, finally cutting into their conversation as she set the table around them. “Mind your language.”

“Mom, it’s fine. I hear it every day at school anyways…” Tsuna tried to appease her (Reborn wasn’t really going to hold his tongue anyways), though most of the times he’s heard the language, it’s been in reference to him – fucking useless, fucking idiot, fucking dumb ass, can’t you do anything right you dumb shit, and so on. The memories were unpleasant.

“It is not~.” Nana insisted, going back to the cooking once the table was set. “Not at the dinner table, anyways.”

“My apologies, Nana.” Reborn chuckled softly, before focusing back on Tsuna. “Monday we begin. Consider the rest of this weekend your grace period.”

“G-grace period?” Tsuna sat up straighter. Just what was Reborn going to _do_ to him that made the man decide to give him the kindness of a _grace period_?

“Yes. Starting Monday, you will be studying _every_ day, both with your mind _and_ your body.” Reborn shifted out of the way as Nana came back around and loaded the table with food – Italian, especially for the visiting Reborn.

Soon, the table was filled with seafood pasta, garlic bread, and salad, among other things. The smell was heavenly, and Tsuna found himself quickly distracted from the dread in his stomach over Reborn’s plans (what could be so hellish that Reborn would give him a grace period?).

“I may have to cut into that grace period, though, Reborn-san,” Nana settled herself between Tsuna and Reborn at the end of the table. “Tomorrow we’re cleaning the house and setting up the spare room for you.”

“It’s still technically a grace period for him, since I won’t be throwing any tutoring or physical exercise at him.” Reborn dished out the servings for them, finding himself rather enjoying the idea of being part of the family and sitting down for dinner with that family.

“In that case, I’ll be sure to try to make tomorrow’s housework fun.” Nana smiled, waiting for everyone to have a portion before taking a bite. She was pleased with herself. It had been a long time since she’d made Italian food, and she didn’t seem to have lost her touch.

  
  


The rest of the evening came and went. Dishes were cleaned up and put in the dishwasher, leftovers were wrapped up and put away neatly in the refrigerator, and the table was wiped clean properly, free of crumbs. Tsuna excused himself and went back up to his room, deciding to do whatever homework that was due on Monday (since he wouldn’t have any time the next day to do any of it).Nanaexcused herself from Reborn’s company, apologizing as she had to put the laundry away and then take a shower.

That was how Reborn found himself lying on the couch with his eyes closed, thinking about the day, and what he would do about Tsuna’s situation. To be completely honest, Iemitsu should fucking be with his kid, teaching him how to deal with bullies and stand up for himself, but no, he was off gallivanting with the CEDEF, doing who knows what.

Now, Reborn understood the importance of the job, he truly did. He himself worked for Vongola, despite technically being a freelancer. He, too, had a busy schedule of hunting marks and turning in reports about those marks. However, he also knew Timoteo would gladly give Iemitsu any leave time he wanted if it was to see Nana and Tsuna. The old man had a bleeding heart, and an especially soft one when it came to family and children.

To Reborn, this meant only one thing: that Iemitsu did not _want_ to be around his wife and son. If Iemitsu wasn’t around more than once a year, or once every two years, despite the fact that Timoteo would be _exuberant_ to let Iemitsu off for a month or so to spend with his family… That said a lot to Reborn about Iemitsu’s priorities. And thehitmanwas less than pleased. If _Reborn_ could take time out of his schedule to spend at the Sawada household – a household that wasn’t even his family by blood – then Iemitsu should be able to as well, as far as Reborn was concerned.

The idea infuriated him. Whenever Reborn spoke to Iemitsu, he was almost always gushing about Nana (rarely Tsuna, unless it was about baby photos over a decade old), and yet… The man never bothered to visit his wife, never bothered to check in on Tsuna and see how he was doing. Reborn wondered if Iemitsu even knew his son was thirteen. The moron probably thought that the kid was still barely pushing five. Reborn wouldn’t have been surprised at all if that was the case.

With all of that in mind, Reborn resolved to help Tsuna as much as he could. The next time Tsuna saw Iemitsu, the kid would be strong and confident enough to tell him off for being a lousy parent.

Or at least, Reborn would like to think that would be the case. Only time would tell, and they started on Monday.

 


	5. waking up at the start of the end of the world

Monday rolled around, and Tsuna did _not_ want to get out of bed. His alarm went off on him to wake up and get ready for school. The monstrous device blared into the morning, a sharp wailing at six-thirty. Tsuna groaned and slapped the blasted thing to shut it up, but he missed, succeeding only in smacking his hand against the desk at an angle, and the pulsatingpain jolted Tsuna upright. He whined as he cradled his hand against his chest, pulling his knees up until he was curled in a ball, protecting his battle-wounded hand.

As he was sitting there, babying his hand, Tsuna realized that it was, unfortunately, Monday morning. Monday morning meant that his tutoring from Hell would begin, with Reborn as Satan, judge, jury, and executioner. Tsuna wascompletely aware that he would be dead within the week, and there was nothing he could do to save his own skin, not even throw someone else under the bus; he had no friends he could do that to. Not that he’d do that, anyways, nor that he _could_ because his uncle was so task-oriented that even a distraction from a friend would not deter him from the task of “rehabilitating” Tsuna from consistent F-maker to consistent C- B-material. (Tsuna knew that Reborn’s ideal results would be A’s, but Tsuna was skeptical at best on the likelihood of _that_ happening.)

Oh. Right. Monday. Monday meant school. Monday meant that he better get his ass up and moving or Reborn would _drag_ his ass out of bed and throw him in the shower. Best get it over with himself without being forced to do it, as force from Reborn promised pain and suffering. Sighing, Tsuna crawled out of bed, grabbed a change of clothes, and slipped out of his room.

Fifteen minutes later, Tsuna was out of the shower, dressed, with teeth brushed and a towel on his head. He finished drying his unmanageablehair and hung the towel over the shower door so that it would dry out. He stepped out of the bathroom and returned to his room to grab his school bag while straightening out his uniform, fearing what his uncle might say about untidiness.

It was time to face the music. Tsuna headed down the stairs to the kitchen to grab breakfast, where Reborn would surely be waiting for him with a cup of coffee and a critical eye. The brunetskulked his way into the kitchen for his toast, looking much like he was sulking.

“Stand up straight, Tsuna.” Reborn spoke from behind a cup of coffee. Sure enough, just as Tsuna had predicted, Reborn had been waiting for him. “Slouching is bad for your back and it makes you look like an easy target.”

Wait. If he stood up straighter, he’d be less likely to get bullied? That was news to him. He’d _tried_ the whole thing before and it resulted in a worse beat down than usual. Tsuna sighed. He knew it. Reborn was going to get him killed. He just wasn’t sure if Reborn would kill him himself through exhaustion or a mental break, or if Reborn would just be the catalyst for the bullies to finally kill him instead of just beating him senseless.

“Grab your breakfast and let’s go. You being late would look bad on my record, since I’m officially your tutor, starting today.” Reborn stood up, rinsed his cup out in the sink and placed it in the dishwasher.

Tsuna grumbled and grabbed his quick breakfast and the lunch that his mother had set out for him. Where was she, anyways? She was the one usually sending him off with her ‘have a good day’ sayings. Tsuna was surprised to find that he was missing it when it wasn’t there. “…Where’s mom?”

“Sleeping.” Reborn shrugged, heading to the door with Tsuna. “She made your lunch last night, I pulled it out of the fridge when I heard you stomping around like a beast.”

“I wasn’t—“Tsuna hissed, pouting at his uncle. “Why are you walking with me, anyways? Do you have something you need to do?”

“Not in particular.” Reborn didn’t even glance at Tsuna. “Just making sure you actually go to school instead of skipping and hanging out at the arcade or something stupid like that.”

Tsuna’s face contorted in an almost scowl. He was almost offended that Reborn would even think of him like that. But, then again, it wasn’t all that surprising… Tsuna did stay home a lot, but he had good reasons! If Reborn were him, he wouldn’t want to go to school and deal with the bullies, right? No, of course not, Reborn would have just killed the bullies and be done with it. How could he forget? Ugh. “Reborn, I can’t skip anyways, the school calls the house if you don’t show up for attendance.”

  


They walked in silence the rest of the way to Namimori Middle, and barely said a word to each other when Tsuna entered the gate (early!) and disappeared into the building. Reborn waited until Tsuna was already inside before entering himself. He had business to attend to with the staff.

Reborn navigated his way through the school to the faculty offices. Perhaps someone on staff could tell him _exactly_ what Tsuna was suffering from – Tsuna wouldn’t talk much. All Nana knew was that someone was beating her boy up and all Tsuna said to them was that his peers were calling him useless, stupid, and no-good. Reborn figured there were probably other, far crueler and vulgar things being said that Tsuna _didn’t_ say to keep his mother from worrying. Poor kid didn’t realize that his mother was _already_ worrying, and that keeping the truth from her was only making it worse.

Well, either way, Reborn was out to settle things. Or, more accurately, he was working to get Tsuna capable enough of settling things on his own. The problem would only get worse if he couldn’t stand up for himself.

Finally, he came across the offices and entered, tipping his hat in greeting to the secretary at the desk. He didn’t quite take it off, though. He wasn’t at the house so he had an image of power and intimidation to maintain. It was especially important now that he was dealing with Tsuna’s school issues. He flashed the secretary a charming smile.

“I need to speak to someone regarding the situation around Sawada Tsunayoshi.” Reborn kept his voice as smooth as chocolate. He had to win charm points to get information on Tsuna since he wasn’t a legal guardian or a blood relative. He wasn’t sure he could get away with just stating that he was Tsuna’s uncle. “I’m sure you know the situation I’m talking about, just as I’m sure you know exactly to whom I need to speak.”

The secretaryshivered and giggled as she blushed.Reborn knew he’d gotten her, hook, line, and sinker. He didn’t even have to compliment her or anything. The poor woman was easy. All it took was a carefully toned voice and an award-winning smile. It was almost _too_ easy, but then again, Reborn had to remind himself that this was a personal matter, not some high-risk work assignment. He shouldn’t have expected a challenge in the first place.

“Well, sir,” the secretary flashed him her own, admittedly charming, but far too flirty smile. “Unfortunately, our staff won’t be able to help you in the way that you’re looking for.”

“And why would that be?” Reborn kept his tone perfectly even, masking his frustration effectively.

“Because our school is, unfortunately, run by a little hellion and his subordinates.” The secretary sounded fond, despite the vocabulary with which she described this ‘hellion’. “He’s taken over the disciplinary committee, and has stayed there for a couple years now, despite having graduated from our school. He’s technically supposed to be in high school by now, but for some reason he stays. But it keeps the kids in line, most of the time. He is, as I’ve said, a little hellion.”

“I see…” Reborn was disappointed. He was going to have to talk to a kid instead of an adult. Jeez. He _almost_ wished he had more training with kids, but in his official line of work, it was essentially meaningless. Ah well. “And where would I find this ‘hellion’?”

“Hibari Kyoya will either be in the disciplinary committee office on the third floor, or…” The secretary paused, looking at the clock. “If you can’t get him there, he spends the lunch hour napping on the roof. Oh! The disciplinary office’s door is red, and it doesn’t have hallway windows. You can’t miss it. I hope you find what you’re looking for, sir.”

Reborn nodded his thanks, tipping his hat again before he was on his way. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that Tsuna should be in a classroom by now, and therefore shouldn’t see him snooping about the school building. Good. The kid was already paranoid of his intentions and skeptical of his methods and goals. He didn’t need to give the kid anymore reason to be suspicious of him or question him.

  


Just as the secretary had said, the disciplinary committee’s office was on the third floor, and indeed, had a red sliding door with no windows. The hitman knocked twice just to alert the office dweller of his presence before opening the door and stepping inside without further invitation.

And there, as the secretary had also said, was the little hellion, sitting behind a large, _expensive_ desk. An expensive, _sturdy_ desk – something that would probably match the quality wood that Timoteo himself was using, something that could not be afforded on a school budget. Hmm… Interesting.

The kid himself looked clean, prim. Proper, even, despite the shag of his black hair. He hadn’t even looked up to acknowledge Reborn’s presence. Reborn thought he hadn’t noticed, given the way the kid was intently filling out paperwork forms over something or other.

“You must be the hellion I’ve been hearing so much about.” Reborn made himself comfortable and reclined in a chair near the desk. “Hibari Kyoya, is it?”

“Hats are against school dress code.” Still, the kid didn’t even look up from the papers on his desk.

“It’s a good thing I’m not a student then, isn't it?” Reborn arched an eyebrow.

“If you’re not a student, and you’re not staff, you shouldn’t be here.” Hibari seemed intent to avoid looking at Reborn. The Italian, under normal circumstances, would have called the kid out for being rude to his elders, but it wasn’t important at the moment.

“I’m here as a visitor, on behalf of Sawada Nana.” Reborn crossed his legs and folded his hands over his knee.

“Sawada…” Hibari finally looked up, but not at Reborn. He opened a drawer and sifted through a collection of folders. “Sawada Nana, mother of Sawada Tsunayoshi.”

“That’s correct.” Reborn waited patiently for the brat to look at him.

“You’re neither a legal guardian nor a relative.” Hibari leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his desk. “Why should I divulge information on the student body to you?”

“Because Sawada Nana called me for my help.” Reborn resisted the urge to grit his teeth. “I’m his uncle, and starting today, his tutor. I need to know everything about his situation. Not just the grades, mind you. I need to know about the bullying, too.”

Hibari’s brows furrowed, like he didn’t expect that to come up. “…So, that’s still happening…”

Reborn scoffed. “What, did you think that you single-handedly snuffed that out? Look, kid, if you deal with Tsuna’s bullies _for_ him, you’re only going to make it _worse_ for him.”

“I deal with every infraction of code, not just the ones involving Sawada Tsunayoshi.” Hibari glared at Reborn, quicksilver eyes burning. How dare this stranger traipse upon his territory and tell him he was doing an unsatisfactory job. “But… I see your point. What do you have in mind for dealing with the problem?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look
> 
> it's a chapter that has more than 1.5k words. How about that, I didn't know I could to that. Maybe one day all my chapters will be like that, who knows. 
> 
> I hate to do it, but Residuum, _after next week_ , will be on hold until the end of April - Residuum will be the project that I'm using April's Camp NaNoWriMo to finally complete. Wish me luck!


	6. you know the world is headed for hell

"I propose that we split the work." Reborn hadn't moved a muscle. He was still poised, prim and proper with his hands rested over his crossed knee. "Since it would be strange for me, a grown man, to be hanging around a school."

"Reasonable." Hibari picked up his pen, scratching down notes for the upcoming schedule of Sawada Tsunayoshi’s reformation. He didn't have far to go, though, as Reborn had yet to tell him all he had in mind for Tsuna's training. Of course, the prefect also had to work around Tsuna's class schedule. Given that half of the reformation was to improve Tsuna's grades, it would be counterproductive to pull Tsuna out of his academic classes. Given that information, Hibari pulled the folder for Tsuna's file that he had sifted through earlier.

Perusing the schedule, and the grades filed into the paperwork, Hibari's brows furrowed. Reborn's grand idea to fix this mess didn't look too promising. The grades were abysmal. He knew that Tsuna was suffering academically, but he hadn’t been aware that it was this bad. Every class was a failure. Hibari took down more notes for Tsuna's new program wordlessly.

Tsuna had no real free classes, but Hibari could get away with pulling him out of gym, using his own training as a replacement for the school's lackluster physical education. Besides, Tsuna didn’t need those trivial gym games, he needed to know how to protect himself – Reborn had been right. As well-meaning as Hibari had been to spare Tsuna of his own bullies, even if they _were_ breaking the rules of Namimori, helping Tsuna every time he was in trouble would only make the bullying worse for him and the beatings worse for the bullies. The vicious, escalating cycle of violence didn't sit well with him. He had no problem doling out punishments, but the consequences were beginning to outweigh the benefits, especially in Tsuna's case.

It was decided, then, that Hibari would deal with Tsuna during physical education and lunch. He would use lunch to tutor his classes, because physical training undertaken shortly after eating would only result in Tsuna getting sick, and that was counterproductive to training. Hibari jotted these new notes down before looking up at Reborn.

"I trust that you have a plan in mind for Tsunayoshi outside of school hours." Hibari tapped his pen on the paper he was using to take notes. "I will deal with him during gym and lunch hours, but if I take him out of any of his classes, that will set back our work."

Reborn's lips twitched, almost curling into the devil's smile. "A daily regimen. He won't even have time off on Saturdays. But I will need the answer keys to homework lesson plans to make absolutely certain that Tsuna gets his homework correct. Do you think you can get those for me?"

Hibari scoffed. "Who do you take me for? I can get next month's lesson plans easily."

Reborn arched an eyebrow. "And this week's? I am starting Tsuna's tutoring today, after all."

Hibari looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "I'll just have to find them. They've already been filed away for this month."

The prefect stood up, putting his pen down and gliding over to a filing cabinet. Pulling out a key, he opened the drawers and began sorting through them one by one for all of Tsuna's classes. Math, English, Science, and History were of course of the most important, but Hibari also pulled the gym teacher's lesson plans so that he could personally discuss with the instructor what he aimed to do with Tsuna during the gym time slot. When all the files were pulled, Hibari handed the main core class files over to Reborn and dropped the gym file on his desk before closing and locking the filing cabinet. "I expect those back. I keep everything for archival purposes."

"Of course." Reborn nearly purred in satisfaction. "You have my gratitude. And my hope that we'll see a marked improvement in Tsuna's academics by the end of two weeks. A week, if we're lucky."

"I would expect as much." Hibari's tone was sharp, all business. "Anything less would be a waste of my time."

"As would it be for mine." Reborn drawled in return, not at all bothered by the teenager's tone. He got up from the chair and stretched out in a leisurely fashion, making pleased grunts when muscles slid, and joints popped, back into place. He strode over to Hibari's desk and placed his card on the flawless wood. "This is my number, and how we'll keep in touch over Tsuna's project. It would be shame if, say, Tsuna found out about our alleged conspiracy."

"A shame indeed." Hibari took the card, and filed it away. "You'll have my number when I send a message at the end of the week regarding Tsuna's grades."

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Hibari Kyoya." Reborn tipped his hat and left the room, leaving Hibari alone in silence.

Hibari sat at his desk for a minute longer, staring at the door. His lips curled into a smirk. So Tsunayoshi was close to someone interesting. The stranger seemed to think he hadn't noticed, but oh, no. He had. The man reeked of hard earned power and the scent of new and old blood. He was of Hibari’s own kind, he could tell. An apex predator prowling the world for his next target.

The question was, though, how was Tsunayoshi an associate of this man? He mentioned Sawada's mother calling him, and briefly mentioned being an uncle, but Hibari had background checks on most, if not all, of his students. And it seemed that Tsunayoshi's mother had no siblings to speak of, the same went for his supposed oil-miner father.

It stood against reason that someone like that fedora-wearing stranger would be an associate – a _close_ associate – of the Sawada family. Which meant there was _something_ about Sawada Tsunayoshi that did not quite add up. And that intrigued Hibari. He would get to the bottom of it somehow, yes.

But, for now, Hibari supposed that Tsuna's reformation was more important. He looked back at Tsuna's schedule and noted that he didn't get to toy with the brunet until last block of the day. But, he did have him for lunch, and that was in about an hour.

Wait, already?

Just how long had he been discussing the issue with Reborn? Ah, fuck it, it didn't matter. He had about five or ten minutes to get to Tsuna's teachers and inform them that he was, essentially, taking over, without Tsuna knowing. Then again, why did he even care, anyways? He was Hibari Kyoya, he could do whatever he damn well pleased and didn't have to explain himself to anyone. Besides, even if he HAD to, he could always tell Tsuna that his grades were an abysmal black mark on the pride of Namimori.

Yes, that could work very well for him. If he was asked. Hibari nodded to himself and left his office.

  
  


  
  


“Yo, Tsuna!”

Tsuna jumped at the voice and whirled around in terror, clutching his notebooks to him with a white-knuckled grip. His poor little heart was beating faster than a rabbit about to have a heart attack, and he was frozen on the spot.

“…Tsuna? You okay?”

And then Tsuna breathed. His body relaxed and he almost let his books fall out of his arms in the process. The terror died down, but his heart was still going about a mile a minute. “Yamamoto-san… You scared me! I thought you were… I’m sorry…”

“Hey, man, it’s fine, haha.” Yamamoto laughed softly. “If I were in your position, I’d probably be looking over my shoulder every minute and leaping out of my skin every time someone said my name, too. But, hey, you’re fine. You’re with me!”

Tsuna’s lips trembled as he tried to smile. The baseball star meant well, he really, _really_ did, but Tsuna had grown accustomed to being terrified of other people, _especially_ people that were larger and stronger than him, no matter how sunny their disposition. Besides… Hanging out with Yamamoto wasn’t very likely to keep him safe. There were plenty of catty, mean-spirited girls fawning after the sports star that would just _love_ to get their claws into the petite, unfortunately (he thought) effeminate brunet.

“Thank you, Yamamoto-san…” Tsuna gripped his books closer to his chest, fidgeting.

“Hey, don’t mention it.” The baseball player grinned, waving his hand nonchalantly. “Oh, by the way, I just saw something pretty intriguing. Interested~?”

Tsuna tilted his head, trying not to be curious, but failing miserably (god, he was even a failure that managing his own emotions, could he be any more useless?). “What…?”

“I’m pretty sure I just saw Hibari talking to more than one of your teachers.” Yamamoto practically bounced. He wasn’t one for gossip, but when the school hellion was talking to one person’s teachers – all of _one_ person’s teachers… Well, that was hardly something _anyone_ could pass up. “Like, five of your teachers.”

“…Hibari-san was?” Tsuna’s face drained of all color. Oh no. If Hibari was asking after him, he must be in some serious trouble. But, he couldn’t recall doing anything lately that would earn him the prefect’s ire. In fact, he was even _early_ this morning!

“Yeah, Tsuna.” Yamamoto suddenly looked serious. “You didn’t upset him, did you? I mean, not that you would on _purpose,_ but you know how Hibari is, man. Sneezing could probably set the guy off.”

Tsuna swallowed nervously. Yamamoto was right. Sneezing probably _would_ upset the delicate balance that was Hibari Kyoya’s mood. “Not that I know of… I was early today, not late. And I’ve done all my work… I probably _failed_ it, but… I turned everything in…?”

Unless…

No way. There was no way. He couldn’t _possibly_ be the only one in the school failing _so badly_ that it caught Hibari’s attention.

“If you didn’t do anything…” Yamamoto scratched his cheek. “And don’t know of anything that _could_ have put you on his radar, why is he asking after you…? Weird, man.”

“Yeah…” Tsuna slouched. “…Do you think maybe he’s… Do you think… Maybe he’s mad because I’m failing all of my classes…?”

“…Oh, man.” Yamamoto flinched. “I better work on my English grades, then, haha! Good luck, Tsuna! If you need any help, ask, alright~?”

Tsuna’s eyes lit up. “Y-yeah! Thanks!”

Yamamoto offering to help him any time he needed it… Not even the shadow of Hibari looming over his pathetic, failure of an existence would deter him from going to his next class and trying to do better.

Not even the prowling terror of his uncle’s tutoring could scare off his sudden, unexpected good mood.

_Bring it on, he could handle anything today!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, next week and up until the end of April, Even the Best Fall Down will be updated weekly while I catch up with Residuum for Camp NaNo. 
> 
> Hope you've enjoyed, and continue enjoying. ♥


	7. when a heart breaks, no it don't break even

Nana was barely a foot into the door when the house phone rang so aggressively it nearly fell of the table. Well, Nana supposed it was a good thing that she hadn’t gone grocery shopping.

The phone kept ringing, so whoever it was wasn’t giving up. Nana sighed, humming a soft _“I’m coming, I’m coming…”_ to the phone as she padded inside and closed the door behind her. She picked up her phone on the way into the kitchen, accepting the incessant caller. “Hello?”

“Nana!” The voice of Iemitsu rang in her ear, rather loudly. She found herself having to hold the phone away from her ear so that she didn’t go deaf, but she was laughing the whole time.

“Darling, you don’t need to shout,” Nana chided playfully. “I can hear you just fine.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Iemitsu laughed. “Ah, I miss the sound of your voice~! My lovely Nana!”

Nana bit back a sigh and rolled her eyes slightly. Well, it’s not like Iemitsu could _hear_ her eyes rolling… But if he missed her that much, he should call more often. She waited for any indication that he missed her son, too, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen today.

“Oh, please, darling!” Nana laughed quietly, hoping it didn’t sound as forced as it felt. Iemitsu probably wouldn’t notice anyways. “You’re making me blush~.”

“Ah, even better~!” Iemitsu nearly sang. “How lovely, the pink dusting my cute wife’s cheeks~~.”

Nana giggled, glad that she didn’t sound fake or forced, despite her discomfort. Why wasn’t he asking about Tsuna…? She held back a sigh, and decided to bring Tsuna up herself. “Tsuna’s doing fine, by the way. Well, he is now. Reborn-san is here helping out.”

_Since you won’t…_

“Excellent!” Iemitsu sounded far too delighted to hear that Reborn was at the house. “Perfect, I was just about to ask Nono to see if he could start Tsuna’s training early. He’ll be the best damn boss Vongola’s ever seen! No disrespect to Nono, of course! Reborn’s an excellent trainer, even single-handedly turned around a clumsy young blond a couple of years ago, turned him into the perfect role model!”

Nana’s blood ran cold. Her grip on the phone tightened and her knuckles turned white. She was aware enough that the organization Iemitsu worked for was dangerous, but she didn’t know all of the details, not yet. She would soon, though, she swore on it. But to hear Iemitsu going on and on about what a wonderful thing this was, that Reborn was going to make Tsuna their next leader…

No, she’d heard enough.

“Iemitsu, you’re mistaken.” Her voice was harsher than she’d meant it to be, but she had to put her foot down somewhere.

“What?” Iemitsu sounded shocked, as if he’d never expected Nana to snap at him like that. “Of course I’m not, Reborn is the best in his field. He’ll make a fine boss out of Tsuna.”

“I said,” Nana hissed softly. “You’re mistaken. Reborn-san wasn’t sent here by anyone from your organization, _darling_. I called him myself.”

“What?” Nana rolled her eyes. Iemitsu was perfectly dumbfounded now, she could tell. “What do you mean you called him? You know what his job is?”

“I know enough, Iemitsu.” Nana tried to level her voice. “But Reborn-san has acted like an uncle to Tsuna since the day he was born. I called him for help because he knows, unlike you, that Tsuna has been suffering every single day at school. His grades are terrible and I wash blood out of his clothes at least twice a week because school kids bully him regularly. _I_ called Reborn-san here to _help my son_ , because _unlike you_ , Reborn _actually_ shows up when I need help, even if I haven’t asked for it.”

“Nana…” Iemitsu’s voice simpered, nearly cracked. He’d just received his first verbal lashing from his wife in fourteen years. But, he had to hold his ground, because Tsuna _would_ be the boss of Vongola someday. “Nana, we have no choice in the matter. Tsuna _will_ be the boss.”

“No, he will not.” Nana grit into the receiver. “My son will _not_ lead some seedy, dangerous organization that could very well get him _killed_. He will be no such thing, not unless it’s what _he_ wants. You don’t decide his future, Iemitsu. _He_ does.”

“He’s my son, too, Nana.” Iemitsu growled in return.

“If you gave even half a damn about my son, you would have asked about him before asking about me.” Nana snarled at the claim over her son. “You may have helped in his creation, but you were _gone_ as soon as responsibility called. If you gave half a damn about him, you’d call more often, visit more often. You’d _keep in touch_ , no matter how dangerous your job was, _because that’s what family does, Iemitsu. They keep in touch with each other_. And you _sure as hell_ wouldn’t have spent your entire family life lying to us about what it is you do. Families don’t keep secrets like that from each other.”

Nana hung up the phone and turned the ringer off. She would have been impressed with herself for not slamming it down if she hadn’t just burst into tears. She sat down at the kitchen table, face in her hands as she sobbed. Her shoulders shook, and her body heaved. She felt like she was going to be sick, but she couldn’t bring herself to get up from the chair. She was exhausted, drained. She wanted to crawl into bed and not get out of it for days. But, she had responsibilities. She couldn’t just ignore them and let someone else do them.

But, she could… She could lay her head down and rest her eyes. She could… Afford to take a small break, to recharge, right…? Reborn was out… And Tsuna was in school… She wasn’t sure when Reborn would be back, but Tsuna wouldn’t be home until at least three…

And that was how she found herself crying herself to sleep, an impromptu nap with her head on the kitchen table. She dreamed of coming home to a full family, not just a fractured, barely functioning mother-son unit. She dreamed of fullness, of her son no longer suffering, of having real companionship, not some broken long-distance relationship where she got a phone call every once in a blue moon, where visits were even rarer than the phone calls.

All the while, tears slipped down her cheeks. Even in her sleep, she was broken. Even in her sleep, she couldn’t bear the hurt of what had just happened.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short today.


	8. you're my crutch when my legs stop moving

Reborn was confused. He’d just gotten back to the house, and should have been settling in at home, getting comfortable. But something was off… Something was very, very wrong… Was that crying? Where was it coming from?

The hitman quietly shrugged off his coat and hung it up, placing his hat over the coat hook. He peered into the kitchen to see if that was where the crying was coming from, and, sure enough, there was Nana. Nana, with her head lying on the table and her shoulders trembling, was crying in her sleep. Sleeping was the only conclusion Reborn could come to, given that she hadn’t stirred at all when he’d walked into the door, and unlike his usual demeanor, he hadn’t been very quiet.

The woman was usually so cheery, so lively and upbeat. What could have happened in the short time that he was gone to put her in a mood like this…? Reborn sighed, and tiptoed into the kitchen, making a piping hot cup of tea, complete with honey, and serving it with a bowl of ice cream. He set those things in front of the sleeping Nana before gently shaking her awake. “Nana, c’mon, up you get…”

Nana’s eyes blinked open, slowly and blearily. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Hmm…?”

“What happened, Nana?” Reborn sat down next to his adoptive kid-sister, and handed her a handkerchief.

“…Iemitsu…” Nana hiccuped, wiping her face with the handkerchief before automatically reaching for the tea. “He called…”

Reborn pursed his lips into a thin line. The idiot called after _how long_? And he fucked up bad enough that it put his so-called _beloved wife_ in tears? Fucking moron. He closed his eyes and breathed a deep, even sigh, rubbing Nana’s back soothingly. “…What did he say?”

“He misunderstood why you came here…” Nana set the tea down and reach for the ice cream. Instead of eating it, however, she simply stirred the spoon in the dairy dessert aimlessly, her mind elsewhere. “He tried to convince me that my son was going to take over that dangerous organization he loves so dearly.”

“…Idiot.” Reborn sighed again, reaching up and petting Nana’s hair. “Tsuna _does_ have a legitimate claim to the position, given his bloodline, _but_ he’s not the first in line. There are three other boys that are lined up to inherit the family before he does, and they’re still alive and well. Squabbling with each other, but alive and well.”

Nana nodded, only mildly reassured. “I told him… That _my_ son was not going to go into a dangerous line of work like that unless it was what _he_ wanted. And… He tried to tell me that Tsuna didn’t have a _choice_. I… I lost my temper…”

The petite brunette whimpered as she shoved a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, determined not to break into tears again. She leaned into Reborn’s side, barely balancing in the chair and effectively preventing Reborn from continuing the back rub. Reborn went back to petting her hair. He gave her a small, reassuring smile. “It’s about time, kiddo.”

Nana blinked and looked up at the Italian with the spoon still in her mouth. She took it out and scooped out more ice cream. “…What do you mean…?”

“The moron’s been lying to you about his job since before you two even got married. He’s tried to get you to tell Tsuna he _died_. And now he’s trying to get you to force a title on the kid that isn’t even his, and won’t be his unless the three before him kick the bucket.” Reborn arched an eyebrow. “And it took you fourteen years to finally call him out on his moronic shit? Good girl. Better late than never.”

“Reborn-san…” Nana took another bite of the ice cream that had been dished out for her. “…What should I do?”

“I can’t tell you that, kiddo.” Reborn chuckled softly. “Just like you nor Iemitsu can force Tsuna into a title that isn’t his, you have to make the decision yourself. Though, I can tell you what I’d do if I were a pretty girl in your situation.”

“…What would you do, Reborn-san?” Nana tilted her head in confusion, chocolate eyes wide and curious.

“I’d get a divorce and sue him for all he’s worth for all the Hell he’s put you through.” Reborn chuckled softly. “And have the courts revoke his parenting rights.”

Nana couldn’t help it. She giggled, and the giggles devolved into bubbly laughter, despite her tears. She was having the hardest time picturing the scenario, Reborn married to her deadbeat husband, doing the little single mother and housewife routine, complete with the frilly apron she wears in the kitchen… But she could not, for the life of her, picture Reborn as a petite, pretty woman, no. For the whole mental scenario, she was still picturing Reborn has his tall, dark, mysterious and handsome self, and the mental picture was _hysterical_. Reborn himself could only smile, because he had a vague idea of what she was thinking, and while it would have shattered his pride in normal situations, this was his kid sister, and at least she was laughing now, instead of crying in her sleep.

“I should… I really probably should consider it…” Nana sighed once her laughter died down. “But I’d have to get a job, and then who would be here to take care of Tsuna, to make his lunches and dinners, to wash the blood out of his clothes…? Divorces are expensive, and, unfortunately, we’re heavily dependent on the money that Iemitsu sends…”

Reborn frowned. So she was stuck. She sounded like she wanted to get out, to be able to breathe and be free of the chains of lies and absence, but she was stuck financially. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “So he’s got you chained to him, and he probably doesn’t even realize it. Fucking idiot…”

“Reborn-san,” Nana chided softly. “Dinner table. It may be mid-afternoon, but we’re still at the table.”

“Sorry, sorry…” Reborn smiled a bit, ruffling the brunette’s hair. “Let me help. You can get that job, if you want to get it, and I’ll be here to look after Tsuna. I’m here already, tutoring him.”

“But, Reborn-san…”

“No buts. Don’t even think about paying me. I’m your family, kiddo. Besides, you’re already housing me and feeding me, that’s payment enough.” Reborn pressed a kiss to the woman’s head. “Now, finish your ice cream before it melts.”

“Yes, sir!” Nana laughed, feeling lighter and freer than before. Reborn had cheered her up and single-handedly lifted a weight from her shoulders and threw it out the window. She wasn’t sure _what_ she’d do without the man she calls her big brother.

Reborn smiled, and relaxed in his chair, pleased that the worst was over, at least for now. But there was one more thing he had to get out of the way. “I don’t want to drag your mood back down just after it’s been lifted, kiddo, but Iemitsu is probably trying to rope Tsuna into the title somehow or another, and most likely sooner rather than later.”

“I had a feeling that was the case.” Nana licked her spoon clean before setting it in the empty bowl and finally partaking in the tea that had cooled down enough to drink.

“I can, if you like, talk to Tsuna about his heritage so that he can make the decision on his own when the time comes.” The hit man chewed on the inside of his cheek, not used to feeling unsure about something, but then again, this _was_ Nana…

“Please, Reborn-san.” Nana bit her own lip. “Please, talk him – talk to me, too. Both of us, if you would, because I’d like to know the truth, too. I only know that whatever it is, it’s dangerous and has absolutely nothing to do with mining oil fields in the arctic.”

“I can do that.” Reborn nodded. “Iemitsu should have been the one to do this himself, but since he seems to think other things are more important… Or maybe he just thinks you’re safer if you don’t know anything, but he’s wrong. Under any other circumstance, he would be right.The less you know, the better. But since you’re married to him, and your son is a _potential_ heir, then you’re in far more danger if you don’t know anything than you would be if you were prepared for it.”

“Thank you, Reborn-san.” Nana sighed and leaned into the hitman again, relaxing.“For being honest with me. Not once in fourteen years have you lied to me about anything. Granted, you haven’t _told_ me anything, but that I don’t fault you for because I never asked. So thank you, for your honesty.”

“Don’t mention it, kiddo.” Reborn ruffled Nana’s hair. “You’re my kid sister, aren’t you? I’ve got to keep you safe. If I don’t, who will?”

“Well, I’d like to think that one day, Tsuna would,” Nana laughed. “He’s a good kid, but I’d rather learn how to look out for myself than burden anyone else with looking after me.”

“Good girl.” Reborn chuckled. A smirk twitched at his lips, almost mischievous. “I suppose I could help with that, on top of helping Tsuna. A household of warrior Sawadas. That’ll be something.”

Nana giggled and swatted at Reborn playfully. She could picture that, too. And she wondered if, one day, she’d be like that character from the mid-nineties, from that American TV show. Xena, that’s what she was. A warrior princess. Nana giggled at the idea, covering her mouth in an attempt to be polite, but with just Reborn there, it was a moot point, since her brother-figure seemed insistent on using foul language at the table.

“A warrior princess and her trainee-son?” Nana asked, though her giggles had yet to die down.

“Nothing less.” Reborn laughed, too. God, the girl had an imagination. “I can teach you basic self-defense while Tsuna’s at school, if you like.”

“Would that be a good place to start?” The brunette tilted her head, curious.

“Good as any.” Reborn shrugged. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomo—“

Nana was interrupted by the front door crashing open to Tsuna coming home from school.

Except, Tsuna wasn’t alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nyehehehe the chapter after this one is my favorite


	9. i howled at the moon with friends

Tsuna stumbled through his front door with Yamamoto as support. He was covered in bruises and blood, most of it more than likely his own. Yamamoto was supporting almost all of Tsuna’s weight as they hobbled into the house, tracking blood and dirt on the floor.

Now, blood and dirt were things Nana was _used_ to. These things didn’t surprise her (and she was glad that she hadn’t bothered cleaning the floors today). But what _did_ surprise her was that Tsuna was _laughing_. He wasn’t crying, whining or complaining. He was smiling and laughing, and despite looking like someone had sent him through a wood chipper, he was actually enjoying himself. Nana almost dropped her cup in amazement.

Who was this and where was her son? Or rather, who found the switch that brought the real Tsuna back to her? …And since when did Tsuna bring company over?

“Tsu-kun, who’s your friend…?” Nana blinked, stepping out of the kitchen to greet Tsuna’s supposed friend (who was fairly tall, in hindsight). She got another surprise when she realized that the tall boy practically carrying her son wasn’t the only guest Tsuna brought home. Well, this was a shock. She looked at Reborn, who seemed just as curious as her, but a little less surprised. “Ah… Friends?”

“Ah, mom, this is Yamamoto-san.” Tsuna smiled sheepishly, trying to wave in Yamamoto’s direction, but winced, and decided to let his arm fall back to where it was. “And… That’s Hibari-san.”

"Yamamoto...?" Nana tilted her head, confused for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Oh! You must be Tsuyoshi-san's son! Oh my, I haven't seen you since you were a little thing, Takeshi. Look how you've grown!"

Yamamoto sheepishly scratched the back of his head with the hand that wasn't busy supporting Tsuna's weight, laughing quietly. "Ha ha... It's nice to see you, Sawada-san..."

Nana smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "You probably don't even remember me, it's been so long.  Ah--! And Hibari-san, was it? Thank you both for bringing my son home."

Tsuna coughed. "Mostly in one piece. Thank you, Hibari-san!"

The prefect in question politely inclined his head toward Nana before grunting in response to Tsuna's thanks. "Don't be late tomorrow, Sawada."

With that, he dropped Tsuna's and Yamamoto's bags against the living room couch and left the house without further comment. Tsuna watched him leave, almost wistful before shaking his head rapidly, as if throwing out a thought. "That was pretty funny, though, wasn't it?"

Yamamoto snickered, nodding in agreement as he helped Tsuna sit down on the couch. "I'm glad I walked by when I did. I think Hibari might have learned his lesson about standing under you for pull-ups. I'm surprised he didn't beat the shit out of you."

"So what happened, Tsu-kun, Takeshi?" Nana hovered nearby with the first aid kit.

"Hibari-san was standing under me to make sure I was doing pull-ups properly..." Tsuna started to explain, but ended up devolving into snickering.

"Tsuna's grip slipped on the bar and he fell, right on top of Hibari." Yamamoto grinned. "They both hit the ground pretty hard. It must have hurt, if the sound of the fall was anything to go by."

"I tried really hard to apologize!" Tsuna protested Yamamoto's grinning laughter. "But Hibari-san was completely still, it was weird like...Like I hit his off-switch or something?"

"Yeah, or _something_." Yamamoto howled in laughter at Tsuna's resulting intelligible babble.

"Just don't let that 'or something' get in the way of your studies, Tsuna." Reborn smirked, beady black eyes glinting in amusement. The smirk only grew when Tsuna squawked and flailed his good arm in denial.

"There is no 'something'!" Tsuna wailed. "Hibari-san is just helping me with self-defense!"

Nana couldn't help but giggle, especially when Reborn rolled his eyes in an ‘uh-huh, sure’ manner as he walked away and disappeared off to do who-knows-what (he would be back for dinner, Nana knew). "Ah, I'm so glad Tsu-kun's found some friends..."

Tsuna pouted, swiping the first aid kit from his mother and attempting to treat his wounds on his own. Yamamoto snickered and gently swatted Tsuna's hands away and took the kit himself. "Let me do it, Tsuna. It's hard to treat your own wounds."

The brunet harrumphed and peeled off his uniform shirt, showing off more bruises and scrapes. His body ached and complained, but it was so worth it. Despite the pain and intensity, Tsuna found himself actually looking forward to his next session with Hibari. The lessons were brutal, but Hibari was surprisingly patient, and never resorted to calling him names or insulting him. And, occasionally, when he did something right, he was rewarded with either a nod of approval or, more rarely and more cherished, a pat on the head.

Nana winced at the sight of the bruises and bumps,chewing on her lip at the cuts that looked like they’d soon be infected. Tsuna had been beaten up before, but he’d never come home looking _this_ bad. Was that Hibari child really helping train her son, or was he using that ‘training’ as invitation to beat her son up without Tsuna feeling bad about it…? She sat down on the edge of the coffee table and opened the first aid kit in Yamamoto’s hands. She set to work on cleaning and treating the cuts and scrapes on Tsuna’s face while Yamamoto handled the nastier ones on the brunet’s torso.

Tsuna sat still, obedient even when he was whimpering in pain. Disinfectant _hurt_. He thought he’d be used to it by now, with all the times he’s had to lick his wounds and recuperate from the day’s bullies, but no. The stinging, burning sensation was ten times worse when someone else was treating your wounds for you. Tsuna was _convinced_ that they did it on purpose. Well, he would be if one of his supposed medical torturers wasn’t his mother.

The star of the baseball team and the brunet’s mother worked in concentrated silence the whole time, and Tsuna found it easier to ignore the stinging of disinfectant when his mind wandered _away_ from the fact that he was covered in cuts and bruises. Unfortunately for him, his mind wandered back to the training session he had with Hibari during gym class a couple periods after lunch (which was also an interesting experience in its own right).

Tsuna hadn’t expected to be pulled out of gym, especially not by Hibari of all people. At first, he’d been terrified. Time with Hibari was likely to be eons worse than time spent avoiding dodge balls thrown his way for no other reason than to hear him squeal like a terrified piglet. But as he had prepared to dive out of the way of yet another dodge ball hurtling toward him at a speed that promised to be painful, the impact never came. No, Tsuna had cracked open an eye to see Hibari standing in front of him, relaxed from his tension only to have the prefect turn to face him. _There’s no way_ , Tsuna had thought, _this could possibly end well_.

But, pleasantly, he had been very, very wrong. Hibari had pulled him out of class, not to lecture him or to tutor him in more academics, but to personally begin self-defense training. It had started out simply enough, with warm up exercises that had consisted of push-ups, crunches, lunges, even pull ups.The pull ups had been where the fun _really_ started, as Tsuna had tried very hard to get a good grasp on the bar to do properly as Hibari had instructed him. Unfortunately, Hibari had decided that standing underneath Tsuna was a fantastic idea. Tsuna had wondered if Hibari had any intention of catching him if he fell, and thus sparing him unnecessary bruises.

If that had been his intention, it was for naught, as Tsuna’s grip on the bar had slipped due to sweat, and Tsuna had fallen from the bar, crashing into Hibari by way of gravity, and sending them both toppling to the ground with Tsuna’s hands planted firmly on either side of Hibari’s head and his legs straddling the prefect’s waist. Hibari, surprisingly, had frozen. He had gone completely still, face completely blank. For a minute or so, Tsuna had been afraid that he’d somehow accidentally turned Hibari into a scary looking mannequin, or worse, somehow turned the prefect off, reset to default factory “don’t move don’t breathe” settings.

The beating of Tsuna’s heart felt like the hand of a clock, ticking and ticking, counting down the seconds until he would surely be bitten to death, and not in the fun way (wait, what?), and cold dread seeped into his veins. Tick tock sang the clock as it foretold Tsuna’s impending demise.

Except, swift and calculated punishment never came. No, Tsuna hadn’t received a mark on his body save for the scrapes on his hands and knees from the fall. Hibari had regained his sense of self, and before Tsuna realized it, before he’d even registered in his brain that things were changing, moving, he found himself on his knees and staring up at a blank faced, but still recognizable, Hibari. Slowly, Tsuna’s eyes traveled down, to find that Hibari’s hand was in front of his face. It took a few seconds, but Tsuna’s brain finally clicked back together and he realized that Hibari – Hibari Kyoya, the disciplinary beast of Namimori – was holding his hand out for him. For him to take and pull himself up by. Tentatively, Tsuna took Hibari’s hand and found himself pulled to his feet.

And, neither of them had even noticed that Yamamoto had walked up to see what was going on and to find out of Tsuna was okay. The result was almost comic, Tsuna nearly jumping out of his skin, hand still in Hibari’s as he tried to flee, only to be yanked back and fall on his ass. And that was how Yamamoto had joined the training session, merely as an observer to mediate when Hibari was being too rough during sparring.

Apparently, though, too rough was subjective to each party. Tsuna bruised like a banana (he thought for sure he’d be tougher than that, with all the bruising he’s suffered, but apparently not), and Hibari hit like a pro fighter (and, technically, he supposed Hibari _was_ ). And Yamamoto wasn’t entirely a pro at gauging when Tsuna was too bruised or when Hibari was too rough. But, they were all learning, really. None of them used to any other, not really. And despite the bruises and the pain, and the harsh treatment, Tsuna genuinely had a good time. Someone was paying attention to him without beating him up for his lunch or because they wanted him to do chores. Yamamoto had encouraged Tsuna with positive words and Hibari never uttered an insult. In fact, Hibari had barely uttered a word the whole time. When he spoke, it was either to tell him what he was doing wrong (if he’d failed more than three times), or simply to tell him to begin again.

Tsuna was brought back to the reality of the sparring and training’s consequences with a hiss, as disinfectant was slathered over a nasty collection of scrapes on his knee. Yamamoto jumped in surprise, spilling more disinfectant than was necessary, causing Tsuna to yelp in pained protest. Apologies flew past Yamamoto’s lips, faster than his best pitches, as he scrambled to clean the alcohol from Tsuna’s knee and wrap the cuts properly. Tsuna whimpered, head hanging as he waited for the pain to recede into dull discomfort.

“Are you going to come home like this again tomorrow?” Nana asked as she placed a small bandage on a scrape above Tsuna’s eyebrow, hands steady despite her worry.

“Uhm…” Tsuna blinked and looked up at his mother. “Maybe…? If Hibari-san pulls me aside for training again…”

Nana simply sighed, not liking the answer, but knowing – understanding – that Tsuna _wanted_ this Hibari’s help, and that it would, in some form or another, help him against the bullying in the long run. So she steeled herself against more nights of washing blood out of her son’s clothes and patching up his wounds. This time was easier, as she had help – Yamamoto’s help. Eventually, though, she waved the teen off with a ‘goodnight’ and ‘say hello to your father for me’ as the teen left her home. She returned her full attention to Tsuna, and gave a worried, somewhat forced smile.

“Just be careful, alright, Tsu-kun? And next time your friend gives you these lessons, since you insist on going through with this, try not to get your uniform all tattered, okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nyehehehehe this was my favorite to write
> 
> also I am VERY sorry for missing last Sunday - I was doing my final assignments for school: papers, readings, etc. I should technically be studying for final exams right now. College is a bummer. 
> 
> That being said, I'll be missing other Sundays, too - the 18th and the 25th. The 18th I'll be out of state and the 25th I'll be flying back into my state. Hopefully I can use my flights to catch up on writing because we're getting pretty close to all I have written. 
> 
> I'll put more reminders up that I'll be gone at the end of the next two chapters, too, though.


	10. i'm never gonna look back, i'm never gonna give it up

It was the second day of supposed "tutoring" and Hibari's training regimen. Tsuna poked his head into the Disciplinary Office, peering around for Hibari. Hedidn't see him, but that didn't mean anything. Hibari could be napping in the room somewhere, or he could be buried head-deep in paperwork. If he was working, Tsuna hated to interrupt him, but Hibari had specified that they were to spend every lunch and every gym class together until Tsuna's grades improved and he could defend himself from bullies – or at least until the bullies left him alone.

"Hibari-san...?" Tsuna called for the prefect, hesitancy in his voice. He didn't want to be bitten to death because he woke the prefect from a nap, but he was also told to be prompt. Prompt was something Tsuna had always struggled with, so he thought he should show up early. Would being early reflect positively? Or was it just as bad as being tardy....?

"Behind you, Sawada."

Tsuna jumped out of his skin, squeaking and dropping his books everywhere. Suddenly, he couldn't get his voice box to work, and at the worst possible moment. All sorts of apologies and excuses wanted to fall from his lips, but every word was caught in his throat. It was probably fort the best, though, as Tsuna was certain that if he actually did apologize, Hibari might hit him for it.

"Well? Are you going to go inside, or are we standing out here in the hallway like lost idiots?"

"S-sorry!" Tsuna managed to squawk out, skittering into the office with his tail between his legs.

Hibari followed after him with a roll of his eyes. He shrugged his jacket off and draped it over a chair as he sat down on the sofa, waiting for Tsuna to sit with him. The brunet did as expected, and shuffled over meekly, sitting on the couch a good two cushions away from the prefect to avoid the situation of crowding him. The raven just sighed, pulling Tsuna closer to him by the arm. "Sawada, I can't help you from over there."

"S-sorry, Hibari-san..." Tsuna squeaked, shuffling to get comfortable.

"Quit apologizing." Hibari leaned back in the sofa, reclining in complete, secure comfort.

Tsuna found himself wishing he had Hibari's sense of confidence. It wasn't the first time, of course, but he still coveted that powerful sense of security. He dreamed of what having that would be like. Would having that confidence radiate to other people? Would that mean that he'd be less likely to be bullied or beat up? Or would it just make his situation that much worse? "Yes, Hibari-san..."

"Get started, Sawada." Hibari closed his eyes. "We have half an hour to do your homework, check and recheck. Walk me through it."

The sound of shuffling paper reached Hibari's ears. His mind's eye pictured the brunet next to him meekly pulling out meager homework assignments, sorting through them to find the easiest to do first. Hibari's mental picture painted Tsuna's brows knit together in frustrated concentration, as all the assignments were too difficult for him to do alone. Hibari wanted to remind him that the very reason Tsuna was in his office was so that he could get the help he needed. The kind of help that made him think on his own – really think – before giving up. He didn't, of course, because soon enough, he heard the faint scratching of pencil over paper. Yet Tsuna hadn't started speaking.

"Sawada." Hibari cracked an eye open. He hated repeating himself. "Walk me through your assignment."

"S-sorry, yes, Hibari-san!" Tsuna whimpered. "I-I was writing my name..."

Hibari nodded and waited for Tsuna to get started on talking through the assignment. Normally such chatter would be a headache, but it was a good tool for Tsuna to use in improving his study skills. The prefect closed his eye again, listening to the brunet struggle through his English work. His pronunciation could use some work, but Hibari will grace him with that because his own pronunciation could use work, too. Occasionally, Hibari would have Tsuna repeat whole paragraphs, more commonly, single sentences. As the lunch hour progressed, Hibari found himself needing to have Tsuna correct himself.

In fact, he'd gotten so accustomed to listening to Tsuna talk his homework out, he was mildly surprised when the bell sounded, signaling the end of the lunch hour. Hibari opened his eyes and sat up properly, watching Tsuna scramble his things together to get to class. The brunet dropped his pencil four times before he managed to wrangle it into his bag, and the homework assignments for English decided to be far more aggressive, as Hibari was startled out of his observance when Tsuna hissed from an unexpected paper cut. Hibari sighed and got to his feet. Really, couldn't Tsuna be more careful? Even paper was bullying him now.

Tsuna stuck his bleeding finger in his mouth to stymy the blood flow, but his expression was knotted with pain from the stinging cut. The prefect strode across the room to his desk and retrieved a box of band aids, cotton balls, and peroxide from the bottom desk drawer. Even Hibari Kyoya was not immune to paper cuts. He returned to Tsuna's side, pulling the brunet's finger from his mouth. Tsuna peered up at him in confusion, but said nothing, noting the blank look on Hibari's face. The prefect silently dampened a cotton ball with peroxide, dabbing the cotton over theinjury and disinfecting it. Tsuna whimpered and tried to jerk back, but Hibari had a vice grip on his wrist. The brunet had no other choice than to sit there and take the stinging pain. Eventually, though, the pain dulled down to an uncomfortable throb as Hibari wrapped an adhesive bandage around Tsuna's finger. The brunet watched in wonder as he was released. Had Hibari just gently treated his dinky yet painful paper cut without complaining or insulting him?

"Get to class, Sawada."

"Oh!" Tsuna jumped, scrambled to get his things and ran out the door. He paused in the hallway and turned to face Hibari, smiling. "Thank you, Hibari-san!"

Hibari blinked and tilted his head as Tsuna ran off. Why did Tsuna thank him? All he'd done was prevent the brunet from bleeding on his floor. He shook his head, deciding to ruminate on it later, after school. The prefect still had to get Tsuna through their pseudo-gym in a few hours. He had to decide if he was going to go easy today or not, given the extent of Tsuna's bruises from the day before. Going easy wasn't usually his policy, but he also knew that Tsuna was vastly different from him and likely couldn't take the amount of training that Hibari does for himself to keep himself at the top of Namimori's food chain. No, Tsuna would have to build up to that, if he ever could. Hibari hoped that he might, because then Hibari would finally have someone worthy to fight with.

Yes, he would work Tsuna toward that end. It would be what Tsuna needed, as a way to prevent further bullying, but it would also be what Hibari needed: someone to challenge him and keep him on his toes. In so far, Sawada Tsunayoshi has been the only one to express such a potential, whether he realized it or not. Hibari Kyoya would turn that small, fluffy herbivore into a carnivore comparable to himself.

 

 

Tsuna collapsed in the grass, on his hands and knees. His breathing was short and ragged, and his limbs trembled with the effort of holding him up. He coughed and his body shook with the action. He spat out a fair amount of blood, staining the grass red. He felt Hibari's shadow looming over him, so he staggered to his feet. His body swayed, but he managed to find a foothold to keep from falling.

"Again, Sawada." Hibari ordered, waiting lazily for Tsuna to take his stance again. He nodded in approval when the brunet did so, unworried about the swaying and disorientation. Tsuna would overcome that soon enough, Hibari would make sure of it.

Before Tsuna could completely steady himself, despite the stance taken, Hibari was on him again, and they were at it, again. And again, and again. And again. Each time Tsuna fell, he was told to get back up, but he was never allowed to strike Hibari in return for the strikes he received. No, this was a lesson in blocking and dodging. Tsuna would never learn to defend and retaliate properly if he couldn't even handle blocking and getting out of the way. And, truthfully, Tsuna didn't really need to learn how to fight back, not to deal with bullies anyways. He could get them to leave him alone if he just avoided their attacks. Bullies generally tend to leave targets alone if they can't hit them easily. They want easy targets, not one that they have to chase after.

Hibari swung his steel tonfas, aiming for the brunet's head. Tsuna narrowed his eyes and barely managed to block it before backing gracelessly out of the way, nearly falling on his rear. The prefect noted the way that, for a split second, Tsuna's face flushed in embarrassment over the near fall. Hibari snorted softly, going at him again, faster and more aggressively this time. He would beat the ever-loving shit out of Tsuna until the brunet understood that practicality was first, and form was dead, dead last. Form would come months, even years, later. For now, function. Tsuna needed to get the basic function of things down before he could even think about defending himself from bullies. If he couldn't dodge the prefect's attacks, he would have no hope at all of dealing with the aggressive delinquents that took their issues out on the weakest-looking target.

But, when Hibari was done with Tsuna, the small brunet would look weak, but be a terrible force to be reckoned with, if provoked.

They continued for hours and hours, well after the final bell rang and it was time for classes to end and students to file out and head home. Hibari found himself less and less inclined to tell Tsuna totry again and again. Tsuna would get up on his own and take his stance on his own, without Hibari having to bark orders at him. Hibari smirked, and he barreled for Tsuna again. Once more, they resumed their bloody, bruising dance of limbs and steel until Tsuna could no longer stand.

The brunet lay in the grass, panting and bleeding, but smiling. He'd improved. Hibari put his weapons away and stood over the exhausted brunet. Tsuna's chest heaved, rose and fell erratically, but he was content. He smiled as Hibari stood over him, smiled at the prefect. At him. Hibari was bewildered. Sure, he was helping Tsuna learn how to defend himself, but why was he smiling at him? The brunet was lying in the grass, bruised and bloodied, sweat stinging his cuts, and Hibari himself had barely even broken a sweat.

"That's enough for today, Sawada."

Hibari surprised himself by reaching out and offering to help Tsuna out of the grass. He was further surprised when Tsuna actually took his and hand pulled himself to his feet. He wobbled, but remained standing until he tried to walk. Out of reflex, Hibari caught Tsuna, saving him from the fate of a nasty greeting with the ground he'd just gotten up from.

"Thanks, Hibari-san..." Tsuna smiled sheepishly, as he tried to right himself so that Hibari wouldn't have to support his weight. "I think I can make it home from here..."

"Nonsense." Hibari grunted. He pulled Tsuna back to him, placing Tsuna's arm over his shoulder and his own arm around Tsuna's waist. He ignored Tsuna's tension and weak protest and set to work supporting Tsuna's weight all the way back to the Sawada house for the second time that week.

People were going to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the last for awhile - I have to catch up in the writing and I'm going on vacation for 10 days starting the 16th.
> 
> I may or may not update on the 11th in light of it being Mother's Day. We'll see. But updates - hopefully both here and on Residuum - will most definitely return to regular weekly postings, likely staggered like before, on June 1st. Do please bear with me. I hope that the result when I'm caught up with everything will be worth the wait and all the chaos.


	11. we danced with monsters through the night

The week flew by, and before Tsuna knew it, his sessions with Hibari were on hold until Monday rolled around. The lapse in Hibari-time meant an increase in Reborn-time, which meant that, for the first time in his sad life, Tsuna found himself wanting – wishing – Monday would roll back around so that he could study and train with Hibari. It was pretty sad when Hibari was preferable form of torture over what Reborn always had in store for him. Tsuna's creepy uncle could be like, Hibari's great ancestor or something, in terms of brutality. Or at least, that's what Tsuna thought.

Tsuna's favorite uncle (secretly dubbed Uncle Creepy) was currently at the kitchen table, walking Tsuna through his first math assignment. Reborn graced him with this little bit of hand-holding so that Tsuna learned how to do the work before Reborn cut him loose to finish the assignment. When one was done, Reborn would grade it while Tsuna worked on another, and the cycle continued. It continued and continued, round and round until Tsuna found that he was actually beginning to understand, just a little, what the assignments asked of him.

Reborn was almost as effective as Hibari. Almost. Hibari didn't hit him with the wooden ladle that Nana thought she'd lost every time he got a question wrong. Tsuna always appreciated that, especially when he felt the clunk of wood against his head for the umpteenth time that morning. He'd been getting more and more answers right the first try, why did Reborn keep hitting him?!

Tsuna whimpered at the thwack, shrinking in his chair as he labored over his work. Math was hard, why did he have to get an A? Why couldn't Reborn settle for a C? Oh, right, because the man was a creepy perverted perfectionist. That's why. Jerk creepy uncle. Tsuna ducked another aimed attempt at his head without even realizing he'd moved.

"Did I say you could dodge that, Tsuna?" Reborn's voice cut through Tsuna's intense concentration.

Tsuna blinked, looking up from his work. "....What?"

"You dodged a punishment, Tsuna." Reborn narrowed his eyes.

"...I did?" Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise. When did he do that?

"Hm... I won't punish you for dodging this time, as it seems that Hibari's training has had some influence over you. Good. Don't dodge anymore."

"...Yes, sir..." Tsuna slumped in his seat, getting back to work. Thankfully, he’d already finished the last of his math work and had moved on to English. It was yet another subject that Reborn was harder on him than Hibari had been, but that may have been because Reborn was actually _fluent_ in English and was an impossible perfectionist when it came to nearly everything. There was no way Tsuna would ever meet Reborn’s ridiculously high standards, but he had to try anyways. If he didn’t, he’d get the wooden ladle to the head again, and that thing really, _really_ hurt.

If Tsuna so much as mispronounced a word or got an _l_ mixed up with an _r_ , he’d get thwacked in the head. It was for this reason that Tsuna read slowly and carefully, as if his very life was on the line. And, knowing his creepy uncle, it _probably was actually on the line_.

Hibari wouldn’t have hit him, Tsuna thought. He’d just make him repeat the word a few times until he got it right and then start from the beginning of the sentence or the paragraph, and sometimes even the beginning of the page. And then be extra violent during their self-defense lessons. Tsuna shook his head. Why was he thinking about Hibari right now anyways? He should be studying! If Reborn realized he was spacing out, he’d get _extra_ punished! With that thought in mind, Tsuna dove back into his studies with new fervor. The energy impressed even the ever critical Reborn.

 

 

Tsuna was rescued from his academic torture at the buzzing of the kitchen timer. Not for the first time, Tsuna blessed his mother for timing his sessions with Reborn so that he could get up, stretch his legs, and, in this timer’s case, eat lunch. Tsuna put his school work down on the floor under the table as Nana set the table. She, being the blessed angel that she was, even swiped the wooden ladle from Reborn so he couldn’t wave it around threateningly like a maniac (Tsuna was sure he would have tried). Once the table was cleared of school work and reset with food and beverage, Nana joined them for lunch.

“I hope you’re not getting tired of Italian in Japan every day, Reborn-san.” Nana laughed, as if just now realizing she’d been making so many Italian dishes since the hit man’s arrival. “Timoteo-san’s wedding gift was an Italian cookbook, and I’ve been meaning to try many of the dishes. They all look so wonderful.”

“I don’t mind at all, Nana.” Reborn chuckled quietly, waving his hand dismissively. “I prefer it, actually, since I’m so far from home. The fettuccine looks great.”

“Ah, I’m glad…” Nana beamed, a light pink dusting her cheeks at the compliment from whom she calls her brother. Even if genuine compliments from her brother-figure weren’t exactly a rarity, they were treasure all the same. Nana knew that the Italian always meant what he said, even if it came off as abrasive or, occasionally, downright insulting.

They ate in general silence, as Tsuna was still ruminating and marinating in his math and English lessons, trying to sort them all out in his head before they continued again after lunch (Saturdays were always so brutal). Nana was generally quiet during meal times unless they were having a get together. Reborn was contemplating how he was going to bring up the topic of Tsuna’s lineage and the truth that Iemitsu worked _tirelessly_ to keep Nana from finding out (which, he’d failed on some counts).

It wasn’t until everyone was done eating their first helping of fettuccine that Reborn cleared his throat. Tsuna and Nana looked up at him in unison, a rather eerie sight. Briefly distracted, Reborn thought that Nana and Tsuna could be twins, if not for the age difference and the fact that Nana was Tsuna’s _mother_. Tsuna _definitely_ took after her, appearance-wise. He shook his head, clearing his throat again.

“I think it’s about time that I let you in on a few secrets.” Reborn folded his arms on the table, expression taking on sense of gravity (though it didn’t look much different to his usual faces, in Tsuna’s opinion).

Nana’s expression followed, entering the realm of Serious Talk Which Cannot Be Avoided. She gently pushed her empty plate aside, putting Reborn’s with it. She did the same with Tsuna’s, as she waited quietly for Reborn to continue with his talk.

Tsuna didn’t particularly like the look on his mother’s face. He couldn’t tell the difference in Reborn’s, but his mother could, and his mother mirrored him. What could be so serious and important that it was kept so secret that even his mother didn’t know about it?

It didn’t take him long, of course, to realize that _something_ was up. And if it dealt with _secrets_ , then Tsuna was slowly forming an idea of who was involved. “…Does this have something to do with my dad?”

“Yes,” Reborn cut at him, eyes narrowed. He would have hit the kid if Nana hadn’t disarmed him of his weapon of choice. “Now shut up and listen.”

Tsuna flinched, but the venom in Reborn’s words prevented him from speaking again. He shrunk in his seat and folded his hands in his lap, much like the timid, useless thing he used to be before Hibari and Reborn got their claws into him in the first place. Only Reborn could reverse the process in one sentence and re-reverse it in the same hour. Tsuna hated it. He felt like he was being toyed with. He much preferred Hibari’s unforgiving, yet quieter treatment.

“—long family line.” Reborn glanced over at Tsuna. “Tsuna, are you even listening?”

Oh, Reborn was speaking. Tsuna nearly jumped out of his skin when he was addressed. “Y-yes! I am, sorry! Please continue!”

“If you were listening, what did I just say?”

Panic iced through Tsuna’s veins and he mentally scrambled to figure out if he’d subconsciously heard his uncle or not. He had nothing. “Uhm…”

“Jeez…” Reborn sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I will not repeat myself again, Tsuna, so _please_ try to pay attention this time.”

“Y-yes, sir…”

“Good.” Reborn leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers together. “As I was saying, the Sawada line dates back to Italy, on Iemitsu’s side. All the way back to the founding father of the organization that Iemitsu currently works for, the Vongola.”

“Reborn-san, all I have is a name.” Nana bit her lip nervously. “I’ve tried looking up the Vongola before, but all I got was a fashion brand out of Milan.”

“That’s their front, Nana, the legitimate business they use to cover up the truth.” Reborn sighed, closing his eyes. “The Vongola, at its heart, is a _famiglia_ for organized crime. I’m _technically_ breaking _omertà_ by speaking about this to you, but since you’re married to him, and Tsuna is a _potential_ heir, you have the _right_ to know. If you _don’t_ know, you’re just put in unnecessary risk. Iemitsu is an irrefutable fool.”

“… My husband is a criminal.” Nana pursed her lips.

Reborn arched an eyebrow. “You _did_ wonder why that paycheck you received was always so much more than that of what an oil miner should be making. Didn’t you wonder _why_ it was so much more? But your husband isn’t part of the inside. His job is external. The subgroup he’s a part of is called the _Consulenza Esterna Della Famiglia_ , or more commonly referred to as theCEDEF or just the family’s external advisers. He leads that subgroup, and they’re usually called into settle family disputes in an unbiased manner. Hence _external_ and _adviser_. They’re generally worthless when times are peaceful, though.”

“I see…” Nana sighed, her hand coming up to her face, with her index finger’s knuckle resting on her lips, thumb under chin, in an expression of serious thought. “But what does the main family have to do with Tsuna…?”

“Tsuna’s a direct descendant of the original founder.” Reborn closed his eyes. “The founder – Giotto – passed leadership onto someone not related to him, and that’s where Vongola Nono’s bloodline comes from. But the Sawada line comes directly from Giotto, the founding father.”

“…. I don’t want to be an heir.” Tsuna clenched his fists under the table, digging into his jeans until his knuckles were white. “I don’t want anything to do with my dad or his business.”

Reborn chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t worry too much, Tsuna. You’re barely fourth in line for the title. There are three others ready to take the position of Boss ahead of you, and they were _raised_ in the life. The only way you’d even be considered a potential candidate for the title is if something happened to the other three that rendered them incapable, like death.”

Tsuna breathed, and unclenched his fists. Good. He wouldn’t even be considered. He had nothing to worry about. And maybe he’d get lucky and his father would drop off the face of the planet and he wouldn’t have to hear from him or about him ever again. Not that he checked in often, but _still_. Even when he only _called_ , it threw everything into chaos and upset his mother. Hate wasn’t a strong enough word for the man.

“ _But_.” Reborn opened his eyes again, and focused on Tsuna.

The brunet in question swallowed nervously. He should have _expected_ this from the perfectionist. “…But…?”

“I feel you should be prepared for that event, however unlikely that it is.” Reborn sighed. He didn’t like this anymore than Tsuna did.

“Not my son, Reborn-san…” Nana chewed on her lip.

“I don’t want to, either, Nana; he deserves a normal life, outside of all of this.” The Italian ran a hand through his hair again. “But, he should be prepared _just in case_. Think of it like an emergency back-up plan for the possibility that things could go south.”

“Reborn-san…”

The Italian only shook his head, and looked at Tsuna. “Would you rather know exactly what _could_ happen in the unlikely event that it _does_ happen, or would you rather be blind to it all and thrown into the mafia equivalent of an angry hornet’s nest?”

Tsuna looked at his mother, chewing on his lip in the same way that his mother was. He knew what _she_ wanted – for him to be safe and sound, with not a worry about _this_ truth. But he also knew what the _smart_ thing to do, even if he abhorred the very idea. After all, he didn’t particularly like angry hornets.

“…I’d rather know what could happen and be prepared for it, even if I don’t want it…” Tsuna finally stopped worrying at his lip, as he thought he could taste blood, though he knew there was none (his mother would be worried, otherwise). “I mean… No one ever wants to get stung by a bee, or something… But it happens anyways… So it’s best to be prepared for it, right…?”

Nana sighed, and closer her eyes. She’d had a feeling this would be the outcome, even if she didn’t want it. And Tsuna, despite his young age, made such a mature and compelling argument. She was proud. She’d known that her son could be more than what he had been before Reborn showed up. But still, she was terrified. What _if_ something happened and Tsuna was put in that position?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh would you look at that, it's an update. How about that?
> 
> hopefully I'll have the next one out on June 8th or s/t.


	12. where blue skies meet the sunrise

It'd been a couple of weeks since the Sawada kitchen had been stocked. Nana had somehow forgotten to pick up the essentials at the end of every week. She thought it might have something to do with the frenzy of Tsuna's studying and training, coupled with the time it took to recover from Reborn's mafia bombshell. Either way, now she was stuck picking up everything at once, which meant an overstuffed shopping cart, the usage of the car that she swore she'd _never_ use unless it was an emergency (traffic was always a _nightmare_ , even in such a small, quaint little township), and an apology to her bank account (even though it was quite fat with the deposits Iemitsu made regularly, despite their last telephone spat three or so weeks ago).

Nana was in the midst of loading her modest car full of groceries when a voice startled her into dropping a carton of eggs. The eggs splattered all over the parking lot, and the pavement went to work sizzling up a late and quite dirty sunny-side up breakfast. Nana sighed and turned to scold the person that startled her, only to see Yamamoto Tsuyoshi giving her a sunny school boy grin. She closed her mouth and her scowl-pout melted into a smile.

"Yamamoto-san, don't do that to me!"

Tsuyoshi laughed. "Sorry, Nana. I didn't mean to startle you. Just wanted to get your attention, that's all."

"Well, you have it," Nana waved her hand, still smiling. "I just need to get eggs again now, though."

"Ah, sorry." Tsuyoshi smiled sheepishly. "I'll replace those, don't worry about it."

"Oh, Yamamoto-san, you would do that?" Nana bit her lip. "It wouldn't be an inconvenience...?"

"Not at all," Tsuyoshi grinned and disappeared into the grocery store to retrieve the eggs he'd caused Nana to drop.

 

Nana and Tsuyoshi entered the Sawada house hold, bags of groceries on each arm. They still had a few trips to make, but at least Nana was getting her workout from the procrastinated grocery trip. To make things marginally easier on them, they just piled up the groceries on the dining table and made the rest of their trips to and from the car. The result was a large pile of unsorted groceries on the table. Nana and Tsuyoshi stared at the pile, looked at each other, and laughed. Working together, they made quick work of putting all the groceries away. By the end, they were exhausted, sitting at the now-clear table with ice water.

"Thank you, Yamamoto-san," Nana breathed, resting against the table. "For your help, I mean."

"Don't mention it." Tsuyoshi smiled, taking a sip of his water. "Anything for the lovely Nana."

Nana giggled, and waved her hand at him as a pretty blush painted her cheeks. "Please, you're just saying that."

"Not at all." Tsuyoshi laughed. "I mean it."

"Ah, you're embarrassing me~..." Nana covered her face, still giggling.

"You really are too good for Iemitsu, Nana." Tsuyoshi's tone was suddenly serious, no longer light and playful.

Nana blinked, her brows furrowing slightly. "... He's... Not the man he used to be. Or at least, he's not the man I once thought he was. ... I know you know what kind of life he lives. I know now, too. Reborn-san informed me after Iemitsu called on the phone and... Said that Tsu-kun would be the boss."

"...He did what?" Tsuyoshi's brows creased in displeasure.

"I told him that Tsuna would have nothing to do with it unless it was what Tsu-kun wanted for himself." Nana assured. "...And Reborn-san said that Tsu-kun's unlikely to have to take the role anyways, because there are three others in line before him."

"Reborn and I said from the start – hell, even Vongola Nono himself – that Iemitsu needed to tell you the truth," Tsuyoshi sighed. "He didn't listen, and instead he plays dress up in oil miner clothes and tries to convince you to tell Tsuna that he's dead. And then wants Tsuna to take the title of boss? I can't imagine why he thought all of that was a good idea."

"...Unfortunately... Once Reborn-san told us..." Nana bit her lip. "Tsu-kun decided to... Decided to undergo the training anyways... On that slim, very slim, chance that something _does_ happen and Tsu-kun _does_ have to take the role..."

"Nana..." Tsuyoshi furrowed his brows, worried. He's never seen Nana like this before.

"I'm just worried..." Nana chewed at her lip. "Yamamoto-san, Tsu-kun's my baby. He's all I've got..."

"I know, Nana." Tsuyoshi reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring rub. "I understand. I don't want Takeshi to have any part of it, either, but I'm sure the life will find its way to him someday, too."

"Ah... How is Takeshi doing, Yamamoto-san?"

"He's fine, Nana." Tsuyoshi smiled. "More than fine. He's made friends with Tsuna, and I really think he needed that. Baseball was all he ever thought about, and sure, he was popular, but he didn't really have any _friends_. Your son is a wonder for mine."

Nana smiled, leaning into the rub on her shoulder. "I'm glad... Tsu-kun didn't have any friends at all... He'd come home with bruises that he wouldn't say where from... And I'd be washing blood out of clothes almost weekly... He... He hated living, I could see it in him... But..."

She sniffed, and wiped her eyes. "... He's been coming home with more and more bruises, but he's _happy_. The bruises aren't from bullies, they're from his own efforts to get stronger, to stand up to those bullies... And he has Takeshi and even that Hibari boy... I'm so glad he doesn't feel like he's alone anymore..."

"Nana..." Tsuyoshi rubbed the brunette's back, brows furrowed.

"I'm okay, really..." Nana managed a smile, looking up at Tsuyoshi. "I'll be okay."

"I'm glad..."

Tsuyoshi and Nana stared at each other for a moment. Slowly, tentatively, they leaned toward each other, eyes locked and searching. For what? They weren't sure. Their noses brushed together, and their eyes slid shut as they drew closer and closer... Until...

 

"Mom! I'm home!"

Nana jumped in surprise, jolting away from Tsuyoshi and standing up, straightening out her clothes nervously. Her cheeks were on fire, as she looked anywhere but at Tsuyoshi. Tsuyoshi, too, had jumped. He stood, adjusted the collars of his sleeves, coughed awkwardly... He wouldn't look at Nana, either.

Tsuna walked into the kitchen with Takeshi behind him. They blinked at their parents, noticing the awkwardness and the blushing. Tsuna looked at Takeshi, confused. Why would their parents be acting like that? Takeshi shrugged. He had an idea, but if he said anything, he might jinx it. Bad luck, and all that.

"Tsu-kun, you didn't tell me you'd be having company..." Nana smiled nervously, trying to ease her nerves and will her blush away.

"I didn't have practice today, so I thought I'd help Tsuna with his homework..." Takeshi scratched his cheek, laughing in that carefree way he does nearly everything.

"Oh, I see." Nana's eyes lit up. "How sweet of you, Takeshi. Will you be staying for dinner?"

Takeshi blinked, and looked at his father, who coughed nervously, but nodded his agreement.

"Sure!"

Tsuna beamed, bouncing on his heels. He was excited – his best friend was over for dinner, and his mother had her own company, too. "We've never had a full table before..."

"You know what, Tsu-kun, I think you might be right." Nana winked at him, before twirling around to get dinner started. "What should we have..."

"Nana's cooking is perfect, so anything you make will be fine." Tsuyoshi smiled.

Nana just giggled and blushed, waving her hand at him. "Oh, please."

Takeshi leaned over and whispered to Tsuna, "...Tsuna, I think our parents are flirting..."

Tsuna merely nodded, mouth slightly agape. He closed his mouth and shook his head, trying to get the image out of his mind. "I don't even want to think about that."

Were parents even allowed to flirt? Wasn't there some kind of law against that or something?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i hope this turned out right because i've been having serious internet connection problems today and nothing wants to work properly like at all ever
> 
> i want to go to mom's where the internet is stable and happy but i'm still waiting for my renewed tags to come in the mail so i can stick them on my car and not get pulled over for having dead tags fuck
> 
> any mistakes are mine


	13. plant your hope with good seeds

After thirteen years of holding no job, and being a husband-less housewife living off of the “missing” husband’s far-too-generous payroll, Sawada Nana had enough. She’d been cooped up in her small but cozy house for too long, and she needed to get out. Tsuna was more than capable enough to handle himself home alone for a few hours after school, and Nana wanted a job. No, she needed a job. She refused to just sit at home being a housewife and waiting for a paycheck to come. She felt that if she were to stay in this house with nothing but chores to do all day, she’d go crazy. Stir crazy. She even though about running away.

Okay, so she wouldn't run away, but she needed an outlet to work with. So, being the resourceful woman that she was, she went job hunting. Except, no one out in the town seemed to have an opening. She went from storefront to storefront, looking for work, but was turned away each time. An entire day was spent like this, wandering the streets looking for work and finding nothing. Hours spent fruitlessly searching for any kind of job opening, whether it be stocking or service. Ideally, Nana would like to find something she'd trained for in college, but it seemed that finance jobs were few and far between for a single mom like her. When she finally returned home, she wanted to pull her hair out in frustration.

Nana stumbled in through the front door, exhausted. Closing the door behind her, she leaned on it and ran a hand through her hair. She sighed heavily, walking toward the living room and dropping her purse on the coffee table. She flopped onto the couch and rested her head against the back, closing her eyes.

After a long day of job hunting, she had nothing to show for her efforts. No one seemed to want to hire a single mother who hadn't been in the workforce for thirteen, going on fourteen, years. To some degree, she understood, but at the same time, she had a valid college degree, and it isn't like accounting had changed all that much since she'd graduated. She could learn any changes with no problem at all.

She'd tried arguing her case many times, but no one seemed to listen to her. She'd decided to give up for the day and come home. She wanted to be home before Tsuna got home, anyways, to ask him how his day with the Hibari boy was and to see how badly he was hurt from another rough day of "self defense" training. She worried endlessly, but she supposed it was okay, as long as Tsuna was smiling and laughing whenever he came home. Even if he was rough, Nana felt that Hibari was good for her son. He didn't coddle him and he didn't make life easy for him, but didn't expect him to be picture perfect, either. And according to Tsuna, he never raised his voice or called him names - other than 'herbivore', which she remembered Tsuna explaining that he called everyone herbivore that wasn't, to Hibari, strong enough to merit his title of carnivore. No one ever did, Tsuna had said. But, she'd also noticed that, on the few occasions that Hibari had called her son a herbivore in front of her, the raven haired kid seemed rather fond of Tsuna. Nana never said anything, of course, especially after that time in their living room when Takeshi and Tsuna were relaying the story of the pull-ups.

Nana smiled to herself, despite the stressful day she'd had, and she rubbed her face with her hands. Time to get up, she thought. She needed to start on early dinner so Tsuna would be able to have something to eat before Reborn got his claws into the poor kid. Nana started to get to her feet, but flopped back onto the couch in surprise when the door opened. It was too early for Tsuna to be home... And Reborn was supposed to be out on a... A job, wasn't he?

 

Apparently not, as Reborn that rounded the corner into the living room. He looked as equally surprised to see Nana as she did to see him. "...Weren't you job hunting today, Nana?"

"...Yeah, it didn't go so well." Nana bit her lip.

"It's only the first day." Reborn sat on the couch next to Nana and lazily swung his arm over the back of the couch, around the brunette's shoulders. "Keep looking. Someone will have something somewhere."

"I want to work as soon as possible... I don't want to rely on Iemitsu's dirty money anymore." Nana's voice was firm. she refused to hold tightly to money that came from lies.

"You could argue that all of Vongola's money is dirty." Reborn chuckled. "Or that all money in general is dirty."

Nana shook her head. "He lied to me. He tried to get me to lie to Tsuna. And then tried to convince me that he still had a right to decide Tsuna's future for him, even when Tsuna, bless his heart, can't stand the sight or sound of his father."

"I understand your feelings, kiddo, but rushing things won't help anyone." Reborn pat the brunette's hair. "If you want, I can see if the old man would be willing to give you a job? It would technically be under Vongola payroll, but since you've already been informed, it shouldn't be much of a problem. And you could work from home."

Nana shook her head. She smiled up at Reborn, though it was strained with how tired she was from the day hunting for work. "No, it's okay. I want to do it on my own. I want to be able to say I found the job on my own, not that someone just gave it to me because I'm family."

"I understand completely." Reborn pat her head again, smirking. Iemitsu had a strong wife, and he'd forsaken her. What a god-damned fool. The hitman figured he'd give the moron a good fist to the face for being such a dumbass. And hurting Nana the way he had - for hurting Tsuna the way he had.

Nana nodded, pleased that Reborn understood what she wanted and wasn't trying to push her in any one direction. But the idea of help was very tempting. "... If I don't have something by the end of the month, you can pull all the strings you want to pull, okay?"

"Fair enough." Reborn chuckled. The subject died off, and Reborn glanced at his watch. Tsuna would be home soon, and he'd probably have the baseball kid - maybe even the hellion - in tow behind him. Or one of them would be carrying the scrawny brunet through the door because he worked himself, or was worked, too hard.

 

The door swung open to allow in three rambunctious teenagers. Except, not. Unlike last time, with Hibari carrying the bags and Yamamoto holding Tsuna up, Tsuna was draped across Hibari's back, arms hanging loosely over his shoulders and sleeping face buried in Hibari's neck. Yamamoto had all of their bags and was laughing relatively quietly so he didn't wake Tsuna. "You really worked him hard today, Hibari."

Hibari just grunted his response, inclining his head ever so slightly so he didn't disturb the sleeping form on his back. He carefully rested Tsuna on the couch, sighing. He stood up all the way. Yamamoto set their bags down and held Hibari's out to him, but Hibari didn't take it. He just sat on the couch next to Tsuna and ran his hand through his hair. "He insisted we continue today. Halfway through he collapsed, the herbivore…"

"Haha, he's feisty though." Yamamoto sat on the other side of Tsuna, dropping Hibari's bag at his feet. "He's pretty tough, too. I've never seen anyone keep up with you the way he does."

Nana poked her head out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Tsu-kun?"

She blinked when she saw three boys just lounging on her couch, one of whom was her son. Nana padded into the living room, Reborn following silently after. "Is everything okay, kids…? Is Tsu-kun okay…?"

Yamamoto blinked and looked up at Nana. He smiled and put his fingers to his lips. "Tsuna's asleep."

Nana smiled. "Is he okay…?"

Hibari nodded. "We quit early today. He fell asleep on me."

"He hasn't slept well lately…" Nana admitted. "Up late, up early. But he doesn't seem bothered…?"

Hibari grunted. "His grades are improving… Delinquents have left him alone, mostly."

Yamamoto arched his eyebrows. "Hibari is talkative today."

The prefect just yawned and closed his eyes, leaning back into the couch. "I'm going to sleep."

Nana couldn't help but giggle. "Let's get Tsu-kun to bed, and we can pull out the spare futon for you, Hibari-kun?"

"Won't be necessary…"

Yamamoto laughed. "I can't carry both of you to the bedroom."

"I've got the delinquent." Reborn's gruff voice finally cut into the conversation.

He held out his hand for Hibari, who glared at it before taking it. Reborn pulled him up off the couch and Yamamoto caught Tsuna before the sleeping teen slumped into the empty space Hibari left. Nana giggled at the whole exchange before ascending the stairs to put down the spare futon for Hibari while Reborn and Yamamoto carried the two exhausted kids upstairs after her.

It didn't take long to get them settled - Tsuna was easily tucked into his own bed and Reborn dropped Hibari gracelessly onto the futon. Hibari just grunted at Reborn and curled up, and Nana followed up by draping a blanket over Hibari without missing a beat. Hibari was asleep moments later.

 

Nana, Reborn, and Yamamoto left the bedroom and Nana closed the door to let them sleep peacefully. "Tsu-kun hasn't had anyone sleep over before. Ever."

"I don't think Hibari has ever slept anywhere other than the school roof." Yamamoto laughed, scratching his head. He looked at Nana and smiled bright as day. "Hibari won't say, since he's got skin thicker than a turtle's, but Tsuna's been doing really well. He's even gotten a few hits in on Hibari in training, and Hibari was right when he said that his grades were improving."

"That's wonderful to hear, Takeshi-kun." Nana smiled at him, patting him on the shoulder. "Thank you. And you, Reborn. You and Hibari-kun have been good for him."

Reborn shrugged. "I had to admit my own shortcomings, but the delinquent's been more of an influence on him than I have. Seems like all he needed was for someone he looked up to believe in him. And who wouldn't look up to the little devil who feared nothing and no one?"

"Tsu-kun really seems to like Hibari-kun…" Nana nodded, and smiled up at Reborn. "But don't sell yourself short, Reborn-san. You've been a wonder to have around. And Hibari-kun can't help Tsu-kun with everything. You and I both know that."

Reborn rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched slightly upward. He nodded slightly. "There's still a lot to tackle. Since he's making such progress with the little devil, I can leave his academics to him and I'll focus on the other thing."

"Other thing?" Yamamoto piped in, confused. Normally he didn't interrupt adults, but what else would Tsuna need tutoring in…?

"Oh, Takeshi-kun, it's nothing." Nana smiled tightly, waving her hand dismissively. And then her eyes lit up in remembrance of something. "Oh! Takeshi-kun, could you do a favor for me?"

Yamamoto tilted his head, blinking. "Sawada-san?"

Nana just smiled and skittered down the stairs. She padded into the kitchen and grabbed her purse. Pulling out a manila envelope, she handed it to Yamamoto. "Takeshi-kun, I hate to ask, but do you think you could pass this on to Tsuyoshi-san?"

Yamamoto looked between Nana and Reborn, blinking. He wasn't an idiot - he knew this was some kind of way to change the subject on whatever the "other thing" was that Reborn mentioned. He didn't get any explanation other than what Nana had asked, so he nodded. "Uh. Sure? I can get this to dad, but what is it?"

Nana just smiled. "It's my resume." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to get back into the full swing of things again but for some reason it's been hard.
> 
> On the bright side, I turned 22 last weekend and the tags for my car came in so I don't have to worry about getting pulled over if I need to go anywhere! 
> 
> On the downside, I've been sick all week with a bad head cold.
> 
> whoops i uploaded this prematurely and forgot like half of it LOL
> 
> I hate being sick.


	14. what i chased won't set me free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, mistakes are my own.

"From Nana?" Tsuyoshi took the envelope from his son, blinking. "What for?"

"Sawada-san said it's her resume." Takeshi bounced on his heels. "I guess she's looking for a job? I didn't know she knew how to prepare sushi?"

Tsuyoshi opened the envelope and scanned through the papers. He smiled a bit. "She went to university for business, primarily in business finance. She's really good with numbers - money in particular. She's asking to consider her resume 'with an unbiased opinion'."

"So are you going to give her a job?"

"Just because she's an old friend? Nah. She'd kill me if that were the reason." Tsuyoshi put the papers back to the envelope. "I can give her a chance, though. She needs the help, but I guess she feels like she wants to earn it."

"So you're going to give her a job." Takeshi grinned a bit, clasping his hands behind his head.

"Don't be smart, kiddo." Tsuyoshi lightly swatted the envelope over his son's head. "We'll see if she makes the cut - this is on her terms, after all. Though I'm pretty sure I could get away with giving her a serving job even if she doesn't want to deal with the numbers end."

"You just want to have her around~."

"Oi." Tsuyoshi eyed Takeshi. "Watch it. That's a married woman you're talking about. Have some respect."

"Sorry." Takeshi's grin wavered. "It's just… Tsuna and I saw you when we walked in - you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

Tsuyoshi didn't answer him. He just folded Nana's resume away and went back to work cleaning up the restaurant for the day's end. Takeshi followed suit, wiping down tables and picking up dishes that had been left out. When all was said and done, Takeshi went up to his room to study and Tsuyoshi retired to the living area to go over Nana's resume. As he was leafing through, and studying each entry carefully, a little slip of paper fell from between the pages. Nana's handwriting looped over the crumpled surface, warm and inviting. Tsuyoshi snorted with soft amusement at the damage the slip had sustained in Nana's frustration to get her message just right - an invitation to a family dinner together on Friday evening, kids and Reborn included.

How could he possibly refuse?

 

Dinner at the Sawada house was a loud affair even before it started. As soon as Tsuna came home from school - with Hibari and Takeshi in tow - he had to first clean himself up from a day of training before helping his mother in the kitchen. They worked in tandem as if they'd practiced tag-team cooking, leaving Hibari and Takeshi to peer inside the kitchen in mild curiosity. Takeshi learned the hard way that stepping inside the kitchen to get a better look at what was going on earned any intruders a "Sawada Glare" - which on the mother-and-son duo looked more like a stern pout - and one mother pointing toward the door with a knife.

So, the two outsiders resigned themselves to the living room while Nana and Tsuna worked together and fussed over how they were going to finish everything by the time Tsuyoshi was supposed to arrive. Nana chopped the meat a little too forcefully - a sound that could be heard all the way in the living room - as she fretted over where Reborn could have possibly gone at such an important time. He was family, too!

"… How do you think it's going in there?" Takeshi glanced toward the kitchen, worrying on his lip as his brows knit together. He couldn't remember seeing Nana so frantic before in the weeks that he'd been helping Tsuna home. Tsuna, however, seemed to exist in a naturally frantic state, so he wasn't entirely worried about the way he zipped through the kitchen, dancing around his mother and following her instructions to the T.

Hibari shrugged, frowning when he realized Takeshi wasn't actually looking at him so he'd have to actually speak up. He stood and stretched lazily as he walked to the door. "Doesn't matter. I'm going home."

Takeshi opened his mouth to respond only to have another voice interrupt him before he could get a sound out. Tsuna poked his head out of the kitchen. "Hibari-san, you're going to stay for dinner, right? It's family."

Hibari paused with his hand on the doorknob. He inclined his head to meet Tsuna's gaze. "I don't do crowds. And we're not family."

"Please? It would mean a lot. I'll beg if I have to." Tsuna poked out his lower lip in a pout. It trembled slightly, as if Tsuna were on the verge of tears.

"Fine." Hibari heaved a sigh and returned to the couch. He shot a pointed glare at Takeshi, who had started snickering at Hibari's weakness to Tsuna's underhanded tactics.

Tsuna just smiled, his bright, doe eyes lit up like the sun. "It'll be worth it, I promise! Oh, gotta go!"

The young brunet ducked back into the kitchen before Nana could scold him for not helping out, leaving Hibari and Takeshi alone again. The former was still snickering. Hibari kicked him in the shin, making him wince. "Shut up."

"Sorry," Takeshi mumbled, rubbing his shin. It was a good thing he didn't have practice over the weekend… "Seriously, though. You're Big Bad on campus and you just let Tsuna, the skittish rabbit, literally sweet talk you into staying for dinner. That's practically a date."

"Yamamoto Takeshi, if you don't stop talking, you won't have a tongue."

"Yikes."

Hibari tried to fight off the misgiving pooling in his stomach. He had no reason to be anxious around Tsuna's mother - around any of the adults that would be present for dinner. It was just a family dinner, and Tsuna had graciously included him in that group. Even if he hated crowds. 

 

"Thanks for staying…" Tsuna whispered. He picked at the hem of his shirt, staring down at this empty plate.

He wasn't sure if Hibari had heard him or not, given how talkative Nana, Tsuyoshi, and Reborn were. They're chatter was occasionally punctuated with a cry of indignation from Takeshi whenever his father (and Nana) started up or finished an anecdote of the teens' baby days. Tsuna wasn't paying much attention to them, in lieu of making sure Hibari wasn't going to bolt at the slightest chance.

"Mmn. You looked like you were going to cry." Hibari glanced away from Tsuna. "It would have been annoying."

Tsuna covered his mouth to stifle a giggle. "Still, thanks. I'm not really… Used to big dinners. Usually we only had large dinners when my dad came home…"

He tried scooting his chair closer to Hibari, farther from everyone else at the table. He tried to be inconspicuous, but he overbalanced and toppled his chair over. He would have fallen, but Hibari put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder, steadying him. They righted Tsuna's chair only to realize that the sudden movement brought the attention of everyone in the room on them.

"Tsu-kun, are you okay?" Nana tilted her head in the direction of her son, curious and concerned.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay," Tsuna said, fidgeting in his chair. "…I… Couldn't reach the fish… I didn't want to bother Hibari-san."

The prefect in question harrumphed and passed Tsuna the fish platter. Tsuna meekly filled his plate before Hibari put the platter back. Hibari even went as far to offer Tsuna the broth, too.

"Th-thanks, Hibari-san." Tsuna accepted Hibari's offer with a sheepish smile.

"Well, as long as you're okay, Tsu-kun." Nana smiled. "Hibari-kun, Takeshi-kun tells us you've been a great help to Tsu-kun at school."

Hibari inclined his head slightly. "He's improving."

Takeshi snorted. "Don't be modest, Hibari."

"….I've improved so much that one of my teachers actually accused me of cheating…" Tsuna turned his head toward Hibari, scratching his cheek and refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

Hibari clicked his tongue, mildly surprised. He hadn't heard about that. He ought to go to Tsuna's teachers again and make it very clear that Tsuna was not cheating - and if he had been, disciplinary action would be taken… But he knew Tsuna wasn't cheating. He was too invested in their sessions for that.

Reborn and Takeshi laughed, the combination sounding strange to Tsuna. "What's so funny…?"

"It's hilarious, Tsuna." Takeshi had paused in his feasting to avoid choking. "Hibari spoke to all your teachers before hand, remember? Either you've really, really exceeded expectations, or they collectively forgot Hibari's tutoring you."

"It's not that funny…" Tsuna muttered. "I had to convince them I have a tutor at home because they were threatening detention and wouldn't believe me that Hibari-san was helping me… I almost got detention for lying…."

"Jeez, man, teachers suck."

Tsuna nodded, picking at his food. He shrank in his seat, trying to get out of his family's (and guests') line of sight. The attention made his skin crawl.

"Teachers tend to pigeonhole their students into certain types, and then get frustrated when students defy those types. Instead of realizing the kids are capable of change for both better and worse, they take out any change - especially positive - on the students." Reborn never broke pattern in eating. He didn't even look up to address anyone directly.

"Reborn is right. And kids, it doesn't get any better." Tsuyoshi plucked something off Reborn's plate like they were old pals. "Even in college, professors tend to do that. If they're not hitting on you."

Reborn swatted at Tsuyoshi's hand. "Stop that."

"Boys, play nice." Nana chided gently, giggling. "But Yamamoto-san is right. It's hard to find a good teacher."

"Mmn… My teachers are Hibari-san and Uncle Reborn." Tsuna stubbornly stuffed his mouth.

Reborn chuckled softly. "Right now, that's all you really need, as long as you keep those grades up."

Tsuyoshi snorted, breaking into laughter. Nana followed suit with her light giggling, She had the decency to politely cover her mouth, though. "Tsu-kun, the first thing you said to him when he walked in the door was, pardon my language, 'Oh hell no.' You've definitely never called him your uncle before."

"Mooooooom." Tsuna shrank in his seat, covering his face.

 

"Something smells good in here." A strange, but eerily familiar, voice interrupted the dinner party.

Tsuna and Nana froze, ice creeping through their veins. Reborn instinctively reached for the sidearm hidden in his jacket. Tsuyoshi, too, stopped eating, watching the kitchen entrance. Takeshi shot Hibari a confused and curious look, but the prefect just lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. Nana broke the spell first, placing her hand on Reborn's shoulder to try and tell him not to pull the gun out.

"Nana darling?" Iemitsu hung the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes zeroed in on his wife's hand on his friend's shoulder. 

 

The silence rang so loudly, Tsuna though his ears would burst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY LOOK IT'S A NEW CHAPTER
> 
> ALSO _GUESS WHAT_
> 
> _**BACK TO WEEKLY UPDATES AW YE** _
> 
> i have 2-ish chapters left to write and a total (including the ones posted here on ao3) of 22 chapters written. Which means y'all are set and good to go for a long time. ;D
> 
> tell me you love me u//v//u


	15. i'm still alive but i'm barely breathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I almost slept the entire day away but!! [okay not all of it, a good portion of it was spent either reading or eating family dinner]
> 
> With like an hour and a half to spare, i give you the next weekly update. 
> 
> As always, mistakes are my own uvu;'''

"…What is going on here." Iemitsu's voice went an octave lower than it had been when he first walked in. He gripped the wall so hard the wood strained itself. The kids in the room sat in silence, waiting for something to break. Or for the party crasher to start yelling or throwing what he could reach.

Reborn met Iemitsu's gaze while Nana and Tsuyoshi looked at each other, not sure what to do. Iemitsu took Reborn's gaze as a challenge. The hitman was a threat, and his wife was touching the man in such a tender way, Iemitsu couldn't believe it. His irascible temper flared. "So that's what Nana meant when you were here for Tsuna. You're really here for her."

"Don't be an idiot. Nana called me for the kid, just as she told you." Reborn's tone never wavered, and his gaze never faltered. "Which you would know if you actually _listened_ to your wife instead of living in the clouds. How old do you think your son is now, Sawada?"

The father in question balked.

"Answer him, dear." Nana's voice floated across the kitchen, quiet as a secret, but sharper than steel. Iemitsu glanced at Tsuna, either seeking help and hoping the kid would speak up for him or that he could possibly guess Tsuna's age by looking at him. Tsuna turned his head away from his father, didn't even bother to glance back at him.

"…He just turned eleven last October."

Tsuna grit his teeth, fist balling under the table. His nails threatened to dig through his pants and draw blood from his thigh. Hibari glanced in his direction. He sighed through his nose, placing his hand on Tsuna's fist, but it didn't seem to help all that much. The brunet only marginally relaxed.

"Sawada, you really are an idiot. Even Timoteo knows how old Tsuna is." Reborn's words burned, laced with poison.

"…Tsu-kun's birthday last October was his _thirteenth,_ " Nana whispered. "You didn't call. You didn't even send a postcard… You _forgot,_ didn't you?"

Tsuyoshi sat back in his chair, watching the drama unfold. Takeshi mimicked his father, but his face was lined with worry. Tsuna was his best friend, and Hibari wasn't the only one that noticed the tension in the poor brunet. Takeshi swore he could feel Tsuna shaking in his seat from where _he_ sat. He also knew, deep inside, that Tsuna wasn't shaking in fear. He could feel the hatred buzzing in his friend and it worried him.

Iemitsu blanched the moment Nana corrected him. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have forgotten that? Forgotten the year his adorable son was born? Reborn watched Vongola's "Young Lion" mentally squirm while he himself was the picture of cool relaxation. Like this was _his_ house and Iemitsu was the intruder. His lips curled up into a cruel smirk. "How could you have remembered, though, Sawada? You weren't even at the hospital on October 14th, were you? You were out in the field, remember? I was there. I watched you accomplish that mission of yours that was _so important_. You and I both know, Sawada, that Timoteo would have _gladly_ given you the entire week to go visit Nana at home _and_ in the hospital while she was having _your son_."

"You come into _my_ house and you insult _me._ You parent _my son_ like he's yours." Iemitsu seethed. "Are you sleeping with _my_ wife, too?"

The Yamamoto duo sucked in a breath at the same time, eyes wide. That was the breaking point they'd been expecting the whole time - even Hibari's eyes widened a fraction. Tsuna's eyes narrowed, tears welling up in them and threatening to track down his face. Anger did not, _could not,_ even begin to describe what feeling coursed through Tsuna's blood as he sat in silence and listened to the adults. It was nothing compared to the shock that came next. Reborn opened his mouth, sharp retort sitting on his tongue. But he never got the chance to rattle Iemitsu's cage even further.

"How _dare_ you." Nana stood up from her seat at the head of the table. " _How dare you_."

Reborn blinked and looked up at Nana. Tsuna mirrored him. Inappropriately, Tsuyoshi whistled. He hadn't seen Nana this riled up since the time her Economics professor offered to bump up her grade in exchange for favors. But, it seemed Nana wasn't finished.

"How dare you, Sawada Iemitsu, come into _my_ home and talk to _my friends_ like that in front of _my son_ and _his_ friends?" Her fists balled at her sides, gripping the fabric of her skirt so tightly that it threatened to tear. " _Have you no shame?_ "

"I come home for the first time in years to see you getting comfy cozy with Reborn in _my house_ and you accuse _me_ of indecency?" Iemitsu seethed. He turned to Reborn. "So you took my kid. You want my wife, too, huh? And you, you're going to let it happen right in front of you, Yoshi?"

"Hey, don't get me involved, Iemitsu." Tsuyoshi raised his hands defensively. "I'm just here for Nana's cooking."

That wasn't entirely true, and everyone _but_ Iemitsu knew it, but no one said anything. Reborn did have to smirk, though, because _how stupid could Iemitsu really be_? "Sawada, really. Nana told you I was here to tutor Tsuna. Tsuyoshi is here because his son is here."

"Reborn-san, don't justify anything. I can have whomever I want in my home for dinner for any reason I please." Nana's sharp gaze never left Iemitsu. "Iemitsu doesn't need an explanation for anything I do. Just because we're _legally_ married doesn't mean he owns me or controls who my friends and guests are. A piece of paper means _nothing_ when one party is never home."

"Nana…"

" _Don't you 'Nana' me, Iemitsu!_ "

The room fell graveyard silent. Iemitsu immediately shut his mouth tightly, jaw clenched against any rebuttal. He knew better. Even Hibari jolted at the venom in her tone. The stillness didn't last long, and Iemitsu was back on track again.

"Damn it, Nana! What is this about? Me not being here? You know I have work overseas. Where do you think all the money comes from?" As always, Iemitsu left out the important details of where he worked and what his work really was, not knowing that everyone in the room except Hibari and Takeshi were already well acquainted with the truth.

It was Tsuna's turn to lose his temper. He couldn't sit down and listen to his parents shout in front of friends like this - even when everyone already knew about the strenuous family relationships they had. His mother had every right to be angry, to take out her anger on her deadbeat absent husband. But he couldn't listen to it anymore.

Tsuna stood up, pulling his hands from his lap and putting them on the table. The movement effectively knocked away the comforting touch that had been Hibari's hand on his under the table, but Tsuna paid little mind to it. He let his head hang, brown hair falling over his eyes. He balled his fists back up on the table, wrinkling the table cloth in the process. The table itself shoot lightly with the pressure Tsuna put on it, mimicking the angry trembling of his shoulders. "You have no right…"

"What was that, son?" Iemitsu zeroed in on his son, who dared speak up against him.

"You have no right, claiming responsibility over us…" Tsuna lifted his head. His eyes were narrowed, sharp and wet with tears. The most shocking thing about them, however, is that they _blazed_. "You provide the money, but it takes way more than that to support a family. _Reborn_ has been a better dad since he got here than you've been my whole life. _Hell,_ even Yamamoto-san has been a better dad, and I barely know him!"

Reborn chuckled softly while Tsuyoshi scratched his nose in mild embarrassment. The hitman rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm, watching Tsuna and his display - most importantly his eyes - with great interest. "Easy there, kiddo. Don't burn yourself out."

"I'm not done…" Tsuna whispered, unable to turn his ire onto his pseudo-uncle despite the situation. "Just because he helped create me and helps pay the bills doesn't give him the right to neglect his responsibility. I don't care if his super secret job is important - family _is more important than anything_. Get out, _dad_! It's our house - mom's house - not yours!"

The floodgate finally broke, and Tsuna's tears fell down his cheeks. The fire in his eyes smoldered and flickered out, darkening into muddy brown. His jaw clenched tightly against any sobs, but it mattered little. His face contorted as the tears kept coming and his breathing went ragged with the effort to control the crying. No one said a word, letting the weight of Tsuna's outburst settle over them uncomfortably. Reborn, who had been impressed with Tsuna's bravery, felt just a twinge of regret. It wasn't anyone's fault but Iemitsu's, but Reborn did wish that he had come into the picture sooner. Perhaps he could have prevented a night like this from happening in the first place. What was done was done, however, and no amount of wishful thinking or painful regret would change anything.

Hibari and Takeshi rose together, on either side of Tsuna, and each took one of his arms. They escorted him from the room, skirting around Iemitsu as far as they could through the narrow doorway. The way Tsuna tensed under their arms as they drew near his father made them uncomfortable. Takeshi shot Iemitsu a withering look as they passed by, but Hibari was like ice and paid him no mind, though danger radiated off him in waves. Tsuna shrunk against Hibari's side, and he didn't relax until the three of them made it upstairs to his bedroom.

 

Upstairs, Hibari and Takeshi set Tsuna gently on his unmade bed. Takeshi pulled the blanket off the bed and shook it out before draping it around Tsuna's shoulders. He sat down next to him, one leg folded under him and the other hanging off the bed. Tsuna hiccuped and pulled the blanket over his head, hiding his face. Hibari remained standing awkwardly off to the side until Takeshi shot him a look. He sighed and pulled the chair from the desk and pushed it toward the bed before sitting down. He crossed his arms and legs, face set in its usual scowl.

"…What do you think's happening downstairs, Hibari?" Takeshi tilted his head in his direction.

Hibari shrugged. "By the time we left, it looked like Reborn was going to shoot the man."

He didn't care to remember Tsuna's father's name - and it was just as well. Tsuna didn't intend to talk about him any more than had been discussed loudly and violently over the dinner table. It seemed as if Takeshi didn't remember the man's name, either.

"I wish he had." Tsuna grumbled from his blanket shield. His two friends looked at him in surprise - even Hibari had arched a slender brow. Neither of them had ever heard such hateful words from their usually docile companion. Tsuna set his jaw as his tears continued to slip down his cheeks. He didn't bother to wipe them away. Instead, he just pulled the blanket tighter around himself. "…He's never around. He only pops in once every couple of years, so it's like he's been almost dead my whole life. Why should Uncle Reborn shooting him make any difference…?"

"Hey…" Takeshi patted Tsuna's back. "Take it easy there, Tsu."

"He deserves it," Tsuna spat.

"He's not saying he doesn't, Sawada." Hibari nudged Tsuna's leg with his foot to command his attention.

Tsuna looked up at Hibari, with eyes puffy and watery. His cheeks were pinkish from anger and the salt in his tears agitating his skin. "I don't get it."

Hibari heaved a sigh and uncrossed his arms and legs. As he leaned forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together. "We know he deserves it, but as much as even _I_ want to bite him to death, that comes with a certain level of responsibility."

"Think of it this way, Tsu," Takeshi said, giving the brunet a gentle smile. "Say you were to wish someone dead, even if they really, _really_ , deserved it, and they just so happened to actually die. Whether or not it was an accident, or whether or not you somehow killed that person yourself, you would still feel responsible for it. You would still _feel_ like it was _your_ faultbecause you wished it to happen. That's what Hibari's trying to tell you."

"Almost."

Tsuna lowered his head again. He's not sure he wanted to hear anymore of Hibari's wisdom. But telling him 'no' was out of the question, especially since it seemed Hibari felt that this was important.

"What I'm _trying_ to say is that, even if someone deserves it, your sanity is _never_ worth the risk. You don't want that kind of guilt on your shoulders. You'll break that way."

"But Hibari-san… You hurt people all the time. You don't seem affected by it at all…" Tsuna bit his lip. He wanted to be more like Hibari - stronger. Confident. So completely sure of himself that nothing fazed him.

"You, and everyone else, only see what I _want_ you to see." Hibari sat back in the chair.

Tsuna and Takeshi looked at him, mystified. What could be so horrendously awful that it required such a convincing mask for the _invincible_ Hibari Kyoya?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun dun


	16. even the wrong words seem to rhyme

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, mistakes are my own.

With Tsuna and his friends out of the kitchen, the weight of the argument shifted. Other than Iemitsu, who had sparked Nana's unforgiving and exceedingly rare temper, the adults had maintained their best behaviors. Even if Nana had to initially convince Reborn not to draw his gun. In hindsight, she almost wished she _hadn't_ prevented him from doing so. She knew, though, in her heart that she would  have regretted the entire night if she had let that happen. Such was her tender heart.

"Let's take this to the living room, guys," Tsuyoshi suggested. He wasn't trying to lessen the argument or placate anyone. He would gladly slice Iemitsu to pieces alongside Reborn's sharpshooting, given the opportunity. However, Nana was his main concern. "It has fewer sharp objects for us to throw at one another."

"I'm keeping my gun on me," Reborn said, eyes never leaving Iemitsu.

"Okay. The living room has less things that _Nana_ can kill Iemitsu with," the sushi chef amended. He eyed the intruder distastefully. "Because, let's be honest, that knife set is a treasure."

They all migrated to the living room, with Reborn shoving Iemitsu around to march forward. His fist gripped the back of Iemitsu's gaudy Hawaiian shirt, wrinkling the fabric, as he herded their intruding prisoner to the next locale. Once there, Reborn gave Iemitsu another harsh shove. He stumbled onto the couch haphazardly, blinking owlishly at the men who were once his friends, who stood squarely between him and the woman he treasured as his wife, mother of his son, his first and only love. He seemed to realize how badly he'd screwed up, but he was stubborn in his pride. And if Nana really _had_ been unfaithful… He deserved to know. He deserved nothing less than the truth.

"I can't believe you would ruin such an important night for me, Iemitsu." Nana folded her arms, glaring from her position behind Tsuyoshi and Reborn. "This was supposed to be a celebration!"

"Even if it is your own home, you should call before you drop in to let your family know," Tsuyoshi said.

"Or, better yet, not drop in at all," Reborn groused.

They all understood Reborn's distaste. Tsuyoshi had shared it for years - since Iemitsu's and Nana's wedding thirteen years ago, the first time he'd found out Iemitsu had been keeping secrets from his - at the time - pregnant wife. They understood, but they also knew that Iemitsu would have had to show up in person eventually, if only to settle all the animosity and for Nana to speak her mind.

Nana sat down in a chair, chewing on her lip. She felt her eyes sting, readying themselves for tears. But Nana was made of tougher material than Tsuna. She refused. "Yamamoto-san gave me a job… Tsuna's grades have improved so much… Even better, he has _friends_ now… How could you ruin that?"

Iemitsu's stomach tightened and twisted. Ice burned in his blood. "But… You—Reborn… Your hand."

Nana pursed her lips and knit her brows together. "I put my hand on my friend so he wouldn't pull his gun out and shoot you in the head, Iemitsu."

"…Reborn, you were going to _shoot_ me?" Iemitsu asked, flabbergasted.

"I still have a mind to, and you're doing yourself no favors in changing it." Reborn stuffed his hands in his pockets, lips turned slightly downward.

"I don't trust myself to stop him again, either." Nana ran a hand through her hair. "And I'm sure Yamamoto-san would be happy to help Reborn deal with you."

"Great, my own friends are turning against me." Iemitsu huffed. "What happened to that friendship?"

"You didn't tell her the truth before you got married," Tsuyoshi said. "You didn't tell her before or after she gave birth. You kept lying to her for thirteen years."

"The truth is too dangerous for her to know, and you know that!"

"But I do know." Nana cut in. "Reborn-san told me everything. And Tsuna."

"Reborn! How could you put my wife in danger like that?"

"She was in more danger if she _didn't_ know, especially given Tsuna's heritage." Reborn rolled his eyes. "If you were _smart_ , you wold have known that. Iemitsu, your plan to lie to her for your entire marriage and Tsuna's childhood was so asinine that even Timoteo himself is disappointed in you. It was his request that I watch over them while you were off gallivanting to God knows where."

"I know everything, Iemitsu." Nana cut back in before they could go at each other over semantics like _gallivanting -_ she knew her husband well enough to know he'd try. "I know about Vongola and CEDEF and even Tsuna's heritage back to the first Vongola. And you know what? I'm okay with it! I've gotten _used_ to it. It's part of my son and it won't go anywhere anytime soon, so I might as well support him - unlike you. And I understand the danger. Reborn-san promised to help me learn to defend myself should I ever need to."

"We've all been looking out for Nana and Tsuna, Iemitsu," Tsuyoshi said. "Ever since your wedding, we've been looking out for them. Where the hell have _you_ been?"

"Work." Iemitsu bristled. "Someone had to make sure that my family had enough support."

"Support!" Nana cried. " _Support!_ All you did was send money every month. Who fed and cared for Tsuna when he was younger? Who took him to the doctor when he was sick and who changed all of his diapers? Who checked under his bed and in his closet for the monsters inside?

"Where were you whenever Tsuna came home with cuts and bruises? Who washed the blood from his clothes and treated his injuries? Who made sure he even _went_ to school even when he didn't think he could? It certainly wasn't you, _darling_. You haven't been her for any of Tsuna's milestones - not even any of his birthdays. Money helps, but it's _cold._ It doesn't keep you warm at night and dry your tears. It doesn't protect from the monsters in the closet or in the real world. You of all people should know that."

"I made sure the monsters didn't get close enough," Iemitsu growled.

"I hate to burst your bubble, Sawada, but you didn't." Reborn nonchalantly adjusted the collars of his jacket. "I did that. And Tsuyoshi did, too."

"Tch. I came back to see how my family was doing before work got so hectic that I _couldn't_ come back." Iemitsu stood up, intending to leave. "You should know, Reborn, that things at base are stirring. You can't keep them safe forever."

He headed toward the door with the others trailing behind him to make sure he really did leave. Before he put his hand on the knob, he stopped to give his wife one last look.

"Don't come back." Nana met his gaze. "Don't come back unless it's to sign the divorce papers."

"If you do…" Reborn opened his jacket, showing his sidearm. "If you do come back, and you aren't intending to sign any papers, I _will_ shoot you."

"Yeah," Iemitsu hung his shoulders. "Yeah. …call me when you get those."

He opened the door and left. Just like that, he was gone. Presumably, he'd never show his face again unless it on business.

Silence settled over the three of them. It ticked on. On and on and on.

 

Tsuyoshi was the one to break it this time. "Nana… Now isn't really the best time, but I think it's important that you know…"

Nana looked up at him, worrying on her lip. What now…? What else could possibly make this day worse?

"Takeshi doesn't know who I used to be," he said. "Not yet, anyways. He doesn't know that his mother knew who I used to be, and he doesn't know who Reborn is or who Tsuna really is. He deserves the truth, but I don't think he's ready for it just yet. But, if you wouldn't mind, I _would_ like to have Takeshi by Tsuna's side when I do tell him - provided he doesn't object to it. Despite what I want, it's more important that Takeshi be able to choose his own path. We should let him enjoy his school and his baseball for now."

"I understand perfectly…" Nana sighed, rather relieved that it wasn't any worse than what they'd just gone through.

"On that note," Reborn murmured. "I'm not entirely sure what the Hibari kid knows. I did extensive background on him after I met him when I went in to work out Tsuna's tutoring, and he's a piece of work. If he weren't such a stickler for rules, he'd probably be a bona-fide delinquent in juvie hall by now. But it also seems that he doesn't have any parents, and other than the fact that his father was a well known police chief back in the day, I've got nothing on him to link him to any kind of organization like Vongola or otherwise. But it's clear that he's here to stay, if only for Tsuna."

"Should we tell him ourselves, then?" Nana asked, biting her lip.

"No, let Tsuna do that. Let Tsuna be the one to judge if he can trust Hibari with that knowledge or not."

"That's a good idea." Tsuyoshi nodded, scratching his chin. "I'll do the same - I'll tell Takeshi about _me_ and who I used to be, but when it comes to Vongola and who Tsuna is… Tsuna should be the one to tell Takeshi that himself. It _is_ his life, after all."

"We're agreed then," Reborn said. "But there is still the matter of the other three heirs in line ahead of him. On that matter, I plan on heading back to Italy for a few days to gather information. I just want to make sure that the plans to keep Tsuna far away from the family are still working. Ideally, he won't _have_ to step up and make a target of himself."

"I understand. I'll do what I can to pick up the slack of his tutoring in your absence." Nana sighed. She tousled her own hair again, brows knit together and her lips in a tight line. She headed back into the kitchen to clean up the mess that was left behind.

Reborn watched her go. He glanced at Tsuyoshi before nodding his farewell and leaving. He had a plane to catch.

 

 

"Unfortunately, things never work out _ideally_." She muttered, rolling up her sleeves and setting to work, cleaning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nyeerrrrrrhhhhhhh i almost forgot today was sunday oops lol


	17. take this wine and drink with me

A week after the debacle during the Sawada Family Dinner (or Disaster, as Nana and Tsuna have come to call the whole ordeal), Nana doubled as both accountant and waitress in Tsuyoshi's shop. The end of a shift was always exhausting, but it was never really the _end_. After her shift, she was allotted "non-work" hours to go home, run errands, or whatever else she needed to do. At the end of the _day,_ however, she had to go back in to the restaurant and help Tsuyoshi tally up the day's numbers.

Despite the effort, she really did enjoy the work. Especially on nights when she and Tsuyoshi had dinner together - mostly leftovers from the day's work. But it was… Nice. For instance, when Tsuyoshi treated her like a gentleman would. He pulled out a chair for her, and pushed it in when she sat down.

"Here's to a good week," Tsuyoshi said, smiling. He poured Nana and himself a glass of wine. "I think we've actually started making _more_ money since you've been working here."

"Oh, don't be silly." Nana covered her mouth, politely masking a giggle. "I mostly crunch the numbers."

"Nana, you're the most requested server in the entire restaurant."

Nana blinked. Her cheeks flushed and she picked at her fingers. "Really…? Should I go full time, then…?"

"I'd like you to, but you _are_ a single parent filing for divorce…" Tsuyoshi sighed, sitting down with his guest. "As much as I appreciate the help and the extra profits, I can't give you more than what you're already doing. You still have to look out for that kid of yours, and I don't want to take too much energy away from that."

"Thank you." Nana smiled, tucking a lock of brown hair behind her ear. "You've been a great help, too. It's been nice… Having someone to talk to about what's going on with Reborn-san and Tsu-kun. Speaking of… Have you told Takeshi-kun yet?"

"…Not yet." Tsuyoshi glanced at the stairs leading to the residential portion of the restaurant. "No, I haven't found the right time… What about you? Have you filed the paperwork yet? For the divorce?"

"I've done my part, but I had to send the papers out to Iemitsu." Nana lowered her gaze. She picked at her food to avoid fidgeting in her chair. "…It's just a matter of whether or not he'll actually sign them and send them back…"

"That might take a while… When it comes to anything _other_ than work, he's always been a flake." Tsuyoshi reached across the table and gently stopped Nana from picking too much. He grinned a bit. "You might have to send Reborn after him."

"Yeah, I might." Nana giggled, but it was quiet and reserved. "Wouldn't Reborn-san like that? He wanted to shoot him last week. I almost let him."

"But, you didn't." Tsuyoshi laughed. "And I don't think Reborn would have actually _killed_ him. Too much trouble with Nono that way. He might have shot him in the foot, though. He's a good guy, really, the man sure does enjoy watching people suffer."

"He does his job." Nana nodded. "He does it well and it keeps me and Tsu-kun safe. That's all I care about."

"That's all you _need_ to care about."

"I mean, it's sad that people have to get hurt because of his job - because of the job Tsuna _might_ someday have, but…" Nana's gaze hardened. "But they aren't my concern. My concern is the safety of my son. And, you and Takeshi-kun, and Reborn-san. That's my concern."

"You won't have to worry too much about me." Tsuyoshi smiled. "I may be retired, but I keep in practice. And you have Reborn. The guy's a cockroach, you literally _can't_ kill him. He'd probably survive nuclear fallout."

Nana melted, laughing. She laughed so hard that tears beaded in the corners of her eyes and she couldn't cover her mouth to feign politeness. "You're probably right!"

"The same goes for that Hibari kid." Tsuyoshi continued, grinning. Nana's laughter got him going, and he would do anything to keep her smiling - laughing - like that. "They're obviously not related, but they're probably of the same species or something. Some kind of cockroach-demon hybrids."

"And-and… They're turning Tsu-kun, too." Nana giggled, trying to breathe just enough to talk. "But he's like… A little puppy compared to them. A puppy that wants to grow up to be like them."

"Yeah, well, they're doing a damn fine job of it." Tsuyoshi laughed with Nana. "Takeshi told me the other day that some bully tried to take Tsuna's lunch money again, but Tsuna just looked at him. _Looked_ at him. The bully didn't freak out and run off until Hibari walked up behind your son, but the way Takeshi told the story, it was hilarious. You might have to ask him to retell it."

"Hilarious like the story Takeshi and Tsu-kun told about falling off the monkey bars? Did you hear about that?" Nana wiped tears from her eyes, still laughing. "I love my son, but how could he not realize what he did to that poor boy?"

"Yeah, Takeshi told me the day it happened. It was amazing." Tsuyoshi howled, slapping his knee. "Nana, I'm not sure the poor kid himself knew what Tsuna did to him. He's probably still trying to figure it out."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure they figured it out." Nana inhaled deeply as her laughter died down. "They seemed pretty close at dinner last week before it… Ended the way it did… And even after, when Hibari-kun and Takeshi-kun walked Tsuna out… They're such good kids…"

"Yeah…" Tsuyoshi smiled. "They're great. They just needed a nudge in the right direction. Honestly, I think we should probably thank Reborn for that…"

 

"Dad…?" Takeshi poked his head down the stairs shortly after the boisterous laughter died down. He padded down the stairs, curious as a puppy. "Are you guys okay down there…? You sounded like you were dying, or something."

Tsuyoshi chuckled, scratching his cheek. "Yeah, we're okay, kiddo. Thanks for worrying."

"Okay," Takeshi replied, smiling bright as the sun. "Is it okay if I go out? Tsuna and I are gonna head to the movies and make a valiant effort to drag Hibari with us."

"Oh?" Nana perked up. "You're taking Tsu-kun out? That's wonderful!"

"Haha…" Takeshi scratched his cheek, mirroring his father just moments ago.

"Yeah, that's fine. Just make sure Tsuna and Hibari behave!" Tsuyoshi teased.

Takeshi laughed, rolling his eyes. "You really won't have to worry about that. Hibari's clueless and Tsuna's too shy."

He waved goodbye to his father and Nana, padding eagerly out the door. He had a movie to get to.

 

"All the movies playing right now look kind of… Boring…" Tsuna blinked at the advertisement posters, tilting his heads. "At least, all the ones that we don't need an I.D. to get into…"

Takeshi nodded in agreement, head tilted in the opposite direction as Tsuna's. "Good thing we haven't called Hibari yet…"

"Mom said she was staying out with Yamamoto-san late tonight…" Tsuna thought aloud. "… We could go back to my place and hook my computer up to the TV. We can watch movies online, and Hibari-san shouldn't mind too much, right? I mean, we wouldn't be in public or in a crowded theater…"

"Sounds great!"

They turned in unison and headed back to the Sawada house. Tsuna knit his brows together thoughtfully. "Do you think Hibari-san would like horror or violent action…?"

"I bet you he secretly likes Disney."

Tsuna giggled. "He's probably a secret fan of Snow White. You know, with all the forest animals that help clean the house."

"Actually, I'm rather fond of Mulan." Hibari's voice came out of nowhere, right behind Tsuna.

The brunet jolted, leaping forward and nearly falling on his face in his effort to hide behind Takeshi. "H-Hibari-san! What are you doing here?!"

In his usual good humor, Takeshi just laughed and stepped aside. Hibari arched a brow, while his arms were crossed and his face was otherwise as passive as usual. "Patrolling."

Tsuna's mouth formed a small 'o' shape as he nodded in understanding. How could there be any other reason for Hibari to be out and about the crowded streets?

"Mulan, huh?" Takeshi grinned. "Interesting. Talking dragon and sassy cricket?"

"She's a carnivore." Hibari shrugged.

Tsuna couldn't help but roll his eyes. He smiled, no longer cowering at being startled. "Of course."

"She defied her country's gender roles, went to war, fought with honor, and saved the entire country," Hibari said. His gaze leveled on Tsuna. "She started out as an herbivore but became, through her own will, a carnivore."

Tsuna shivered and looked away. As if that meant something to him… Unless… Was Hibari suggesting that he wasn't as useless as his whole life (up until Reborn showed up) had led him to believe…?

He couldn't be. Hibari didn't care _that_ much. He cared, sure! He showed that last week during and after the Sawada Family Disaster, but… Did he… Really actually… _Believe_ in him…?

"Well, are we going to stand here all night or watch movies at Tsuna's place?" Takeshi piped up, still grinning. _He_ knew the dance his friends were playing. It was hard _not_ to know. But, his friends were bullheaded in their obliviousness.

"Oh! Right!" Tsuna nodded. He smiled up at Hibari, twiddling his thumbs. "D'you want to come?"

Hibari inclined his head lightly in consent, and they were off again.

"So what should we watch? I've got a lot of horror movies… One Missed Call was great. It had me scared of my phone for a week after that!" Tsuna chatted on, eager to fill the silence so it didn't lapse into awkwardness. "I also liked Infection…"

"The Ring quadrilogy." Hibari offered, tilting his head. "Sadako didn't let death stop her from getting revenge."

Tsuna and Takeshi shuddered. Takeshi nodded, though. "Right… Of course you'd like that series… Personally, I like Battle Royale. The book was so much more interesting, though."

Hibari blinked. Tsuna looked up at Takeshi in awe. "You _read_ that? It's a brick!"

Takeshi shrugged. "I watched the movie first, and then found out it was a book afterward. I was curious. The movie sequel tried to tie in to the book, but I don't think it really worked."

 

The three of them finally made it back to Tsuna's house. Tsuna fumbled with his keys, dropping them when he tried to push the house key into the lock. They clattered to the porch, plinking as they bounced off the steps. Tsuna swore under his breath as he bent down to reach them, brows furrowed together in concentration. In the process of retrieving his keys, the other two boys had joined him. Hibari's fingers brushed against Tsuna's over the metal and Tsuna's head connected with Takeshi's. Tsuna and Takeshi staggered back away from each other and hit the ground.

"Ow…" Tsuna whined. He rubbed his head. "Yamamoto-kun, you have a really hard head…"

"Jeez, your head isn't any softer, Tsuna." Takeshi laughed.

Hibari made a sound in the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like ill-concealed laughter. The two boys on the ground whipped their heads up to stare at him in surprise. Hibari fell silent again. Folding his arms, he arched an eyebrow at them. "What?"

"N-nothing!" Tsuna waved his hands rapidly, trying to placate him - had they made him mad?

"Not a thing." Takeshi chuckled, pushing himself up to his feet. He dusted his jeans off before holding his hand out for Tsuna.

Hibari unfurled his arms and offered a hand to the brunet as well. Tsuna blinked up at them before smiling brightly. He took both their hands and happily let them pull him from the ground. Once he stood on his feet, he let their hands go and dusted himself off. Hibari knelt down and scooped the forgotten keys from the porch steps. He opened the door for them before handing the keys back to Tsuna, dropping them in the brunet's outstretched palm. The three of them piled inside and Tsuna kicked the door shut behind him, locking it since they were the only ones home.

"Yamamoto-kun, you can go get my laptop and the cables, right?" Tsuna asked, toeing off his shoes. "I'm gonna go make the popcorn!"

Takeshi grinned and gave Tsuna a mock salute. He kicked his shoes off as well before padding upstairs to get what they'd need for the TV. Tsuna smiled and disappeared into the kitchen with Hibari following quietly after. He hadn't been asked to do anything, and he didn't take orders anyways, so it hardly mattered if Tsuna had thought to say anything.

Tsuna pulled a few packets of popcorn out of the pantry. He tossed one in the microwave after unwrapping it, and then stopped. Next came the hard part - a dangerous game of gymnastics to get the popcorn bowl from the top cabinet. He could already see himself falling on his ass again. But he had company - company that was _his_ and not his mom's, _his_ friends. He could totally do this without fudging it up!

Puffing his cheeks, he steeled himself for the Herculean task, unaware of his audience. He stood on the tips of his toes and reached as far as he could, even going as far as to try and stretch his fingers out. He leaned himself against the counter so he didn't lose his balance, but even still, he was only able to get the cabinet open.

Step one, complete.

Step two, acquire bowl, underway. Tsuna hopped on his toes slightly, trying to at least brush his fingers against bowl he wanted, but he still couldn't reach. That didn't lessen his determination any, however. It just made his efforts more fervent. He nudged a floor cabinet open with his foot and stepped inside it to boost his height enough to reach. Unfortunately, the counter was still in the way; it made his body bend in an uncomfortable arch and his balance all the harder to maintain. He dropped back onto the solid floor and pouted up at the cabinet. _Curse his short height!_

He was about to give up and pull a chair over from the table (chairs are for quitters!) when he felt hands on his waist. And then he was lifted up, unexpectedly. Tsuna yelped in alarm and flailed, almost hitting Hibari in the face in the process.

"Calm down," Hibari hissed. "It's just me."

"Oh." Tsuna blinked. And then it sank in completely that Hibari was the one holding him up off the ground, his feet dangling uselessly.

"Are you going to get the bowl or not?"

"Oh! Right!" Tsuna squeaked. "Yeah, sorry!"

He quickly retrieved the bowl and closed the cabinet before Hibari decided to drop him for taking too long. No such thing happened, however. Hibari set him down relatively gently and moved away, leaving Tsuna to walk stiffly over to the microwave with bright red cheeks and the prized (empty) popcorn bowl clutched to his chest. Hibari made that suspiciously-ill-concealed-laugh sound in the back of his throat again.

Takeshi chose that precise moment to pop back in.

"Computer's hooked up! How's—what'd I miss?" He asked, grinning when he noticed Tsuna's horribly red face.

Tsuna thought Takeshi's grin was shit-eating and if he weren't filling the bowl with the first batch of popcorn, he'd throw it at him. But alas. The bowl was serving another purpose.

 

 _Finally_ , the popcorn was done, and the movie was rolling. Tsuna made sure to have a wireless keyboard-trackpad combo so they didn't have to keep getting up to open different movies. Not only was that extremely convenient, but it also kept everyone quite happy. Getting up would require flailing the blankets out of the way, disrupting their perfect pillow formation, and, perhaps worst of all, leaving an empty spot on the couch that got cold just as quickly as whoever got up after being ensconced in the warmth.

Needless to say, the three of them were perfectly comfortable curled up on the couch with their excess of pillows and blankets. The popcorn hadn't lasted through one full move and the bowl now sat empty and useless on the floor.

"So, if you saw the tape, Tsuna, who would you give a copy to so you could survive?" Takeshi asked midway through the third _Ringu_ movie. "I think I'd give it to the math teacher."

"Mmn…" Tsuna puzzled for a moment. "…The math teacher, yeah, definitely. If I had to pick someone different, maybe… The English teacher… What about you, Hibari-san?"

"I don't watch tapes that I don't know what's on them, so." Hibari shrugged with the shoulder that _didn't_ have a snuggly brunet on it. "Aren't tapes obsolete now?"

"Oh yeah… Good point…" Tsuna yawned and hunkered down, falling silent to continue enjoying the movie.

"They supposedly have cursed YouTube videos now, though." Takeshi supplied. "That's the rumor."

"Fake."

"Shhhhh." Tsuna whined.

Takeshi chuckled and ruffled Tsuna's hair. He settled against the arm of the couch. Hibari yawned and draped his arm over Tsuna, if only to move it so the sleeping-tingly sensation would go away.

It didn't take much longer for them to fall asleep. Tsuna still snuggled up against Hibari, but he'd stretched his legs out so they were across Takeshi's lap. Hibari leaned into Tsuna, instinctive even in his sleep, to avoid falling over. Takeshi had given up on any semblance of grace and had draped himself over the arm of the couch, sleeping like that. His back would probably kill him in the morning.

 

Later in the evening, Tsuyoshi walked Nana home. They stopped at the door as Nana fished through her purse for her keys. She smiled when she found them, and opened the door. She turned her smile to Tsuyoshi.

"Thank you for tonight," she said. "The dinner. Everything."

"You're welcome." Tsuyoshi smiled back at her. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Bright and early." Nana giggled. Of course he'd see her - she was working! "Goodnight, Tsuyoshi-san."

"Goodnight," he said. He scratched his cheek slightly. And then, before fear could get the better of him, he dipped in and kissed her cheek gently.

Nana's cheeks flared pink, and she couldn't help but smile. "…Tsuyoshi-san…?"

"Ah—sorry—I…." Jeez, he was a grown adult! Why was he stuttering like a schoolboy?

"Goodnight, Tsuyoshi-san," Nana said, smiling so wide her cheeks hurt. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek back, gently like he'd done to her.  "I'll see you tomorrow."

Tsuyoshi stood there, stunned. He blinked owlishly, before grinning. "Goodni—"

He blinked again. In his stunned stupor Nana had walked inside and shut the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay more flirting
> 
> and more Tsuna, Hibari, and Takeshi being big fat adorable dorks. And now you all know my not-so-secret headcanon that Tsuna loves horror movies. 
> 
> [my favorite is the scene with the popcorn. Can you tell?]
> 
> As always, mistakes are my own. c:


	18. i've been housing all this doubt and insecurity

The next time Iemitsu showed up at the house, Nana was sitting on the porch with the sliding kitchen door open. Tsuna and Hibari sprawled themselves across the living room and were, surprisingly, without Takeshi's company. Tsuna sneezed and clung tightly to a box of tissues, trying hard to focus on the homework in front of him, but the words blurred in and out of coherency. He quivered, sick with fever but freezing despite his cloak of fleece. Occasionally, Hibari snapped his fingers in front of Tsuna's face to bring his attention back to the Real World (and not the one with strange, hallucinatory shapes that weaved and lunged as strange otherworldly predators).

"That's enough, Sawada." Hibari sighed.

He put all of Tsuna's homework in one neat pile and left it just out of his reach, despite Tsuna's protest, which was followed by a wheezing fit of coughs.

"You're in no condition to continue," the prefect said. "You can't even see straight. …I can't even tell what it is you're really looking at."

"…but I don't want to get behind again…" Tsuna whined. His voice was nasally and his breathing labored. "I just caught up and everything was just starting to make sense. I don't want my grades to drop again…"

"Yamamoto is getting your things for you," Hibari growled. Tsuna's penchant for pushing himself so hard he made himself sick grated on Hibari's patience. "You won't get behind, but if you make yourself worse, you _will_."

"But—" Tsuna's eyes welled up. His cheeks flushed with fever and his bangs clung to his sweaty forehead, but he couldn't just… _Not_ do his work… Maybe he could have, before Hibari's tutoring, before Reborn's visit, but not _now._ Not after he'd worked so hard.

"Iemitsu." Nana's voice lilted into the living room from the open kitchen - the surprise in it loud enough to get the boys' attention.

Tsuna froze. The tears dried up immediately, replaced wide-eyed terror. Hibari glanced toward the door and grit his teeth. Why now, of all times?

"Is Reborn around? Or Yoshi?" Iemitsu's voice grated the air, loud and boisterous.

"No." Nana's voice hardened. "What do you want?"

Tsuna's breath, heavy with congestion, quickened and his heart raced. He reached out to grab at Hibari's sleeve, fingers shaky. The expression on his face was clear: _Get me out of here_.

Normally, Hibari would have made Tsuna walk himself up the stairs, but the little herbivore looked pitiable in his sickness. He heaved a sigh and scooped Tsuna up from the couch, toting him up the stairs like a feverish rag-doll.

 

Downstairs, Nana continued with Iemitsu. She sat up straight, shoulders set apart and stiff. She held her chin high. Even as she sat with her legs curled under her, even as she looked to still be enjoying a beautiful day, she guarded herself and showed her husband, _soon to be ex-husband,_ that she would - could - not be bullied into changing her mind, if that's what Iemitsu had showed up for.

"What do you want, Iemitsu?" Nana asked him again. "Because I clearly remember telling you _not_ to come back unless you had signed divorce papers."

"That's…" Iemitsu scratched his head. "That's what I'm here for. I just wanted to know if Reborn and Yoshi were around so they wouldn't kill me before I handed you the papers…"

Nana blinked, pleasantly surprised. After nearly fourteen years, he'd _finally_ come through for her. Of course, it just had to be for divorces papers… She wondered if he only signed them and brought them back because the threat of Death _with a capital D_ hung over his head. "That's… New."

Iemitsu bristled, but he forced himself back under control. This was his wife. Well. Ex, now, he guessed. But, still. She was a civilian, not some target he could deal with accordingly. He reluctantly handed over the papers. "…Everything is in order… You'll never have to see me again, if that's what you want."

"Good." Nana gingerly took the packet, flipping through them _just to make sure_. Her trust in the man she married had long since worn thin. "If the license board has any problem with these, I _will_ notify your boss."

"…I know." Iemitsu shoved his hands in his pockets and poked at a rock with his toe. "… Can I see Tsuna? One more time?"

"No." Nana glanced inside. "He's got a bad fever and is _supposed_ to be in bed. But even if he was fine, I doubt he'd be very happy with me if I let you in."

Iemitsu deflated. "…I'm sorry it turned out like this."

"So am I." Nana's tone didn't reflect any sincerity her words might have held. She doubted Iemitsu was _really_ all that sorry. If he was, why hadn't he spent more time at home, or at least called more often? Hell, she would have gone for a text message every now and then. And, if he was so sorry, why had he completely neglected his only son? She wouldn't forgive him for forgetting how old Tsuna was by _two years_.

At the very least, this chapter in her life - their lives - was finally complete. All she had to do now was take the paperwork and have it filed accordingly. Nana watched Iemitsu walk away, feeling lighter and freer than she'd ever felt before. Why, she thought she might fly!

She couldn't wait to call Tsuyoshi and give him to good news. (She'd call Reborn, but she didn't want to interrupt whatever he was working on in Italy.)

 

Hibari watched the exchange from Tsuna's window. He listened intently to Tsuna's parents talk and, if he had fur, it would be bristling. He wasn't sure _why,_ exactly, he felt so strongly about the situation. But he knew that the panic in Tsuna's eyes had been real - more so than when bullies cornered him for something or another. The times Hibari had noticed _that,_ Tsuna's eyes always dimmed with bitter resignation. This time, Tsuna's eyes had been bright with fear - as bright as they could be, given that the fever clouded their focus.

"Hibari-san." Tsuna whined piteously.

"Hush," Hibari hissed gently. "I'm listening."

"To what…?"

Hibari watched, and he let his muscles relax as Iemitsu _finally_ turned to leave. Good. He didn't have to worry about biting Tsuna's father to death. Today. Maybe one day, though, and the man would certainly have it coming to him, of course. He settled down in Tsuna's desk chair and focused on the sick brunet. "Your father's gone."

"Really…?"

"He gave your mother a packet of papers for something."

"Probably the divorce…" Tsuna lifted his arm and coughed into it, chest heaving. "It's been, what… Two weeks now…?"

Hibari grunted before leaning back in the chair. He resisted the urge to prop his feet up on the bed, instead crossing his legs. "Either way, he's gone now. I assume that he won't be coming back if he just handed your mother divorce papers."

"Good…" Tsuna rolled over so his back was to the wall. He looked up at Hibari, chewing on his lip.

"What?"

"…N-nothing…"

"Spit it out, Sawada."

Tsuna flinched and pulled the covers over his head. He stayed like that for several minutes before the warm, stifling air made it hard to breathe. Peeking out, he glanced at Hibari. "…Can we at least… Do my reading? I mean… Read it out loud…? So I won't be behind when we do discussion on Monday…? Just because my eyes are fuzzy doesn't mean my ears are…"

Hibari heaved a sigh. "…Fine. Let me go get the books."

"…Thank you, Hibari-san…"

"Mmn."

 

"Oh, Hibari-kun." Nana blinked as she nearly walked into him in the living room. "I thought you were upstairs with Tsu-kun."

Hibari shifted his weight awkwardly. He kept his gaze away from Nana's face, mostly on random objects in the room. He held Tsuna's books in his arms, raising them up slightly for Nana's attention. "…His textbooks."

"He still wants to work even when he's sick in bed?" Nana asked, eyes wide. "You're going to _let_ him?"

Hibari shook his head. He couldn't convince himself to tell Nana that he was going to _read to Tsuna._ The idea alone made his stomach twist in strange loops. But, it wasn't as if he _abhorred_ the idea… How strange. "…Taking them back to his room."

"How kind of you," Nana said, smiling. "Wait right there, though. You can take his books up with a tray of tea and soup for him, okay? It'll only take a few minutes. Come help me in the kitchen?"

Hibari clutched the textbooks against his chest, fingers wrapped so tightly around them that the skin on his knuckles stretched flat and white. He nodded silently, and followed Tsuna's mother. His steps were slow and reluctant. He could handle it. He's been in the Sawada kitchen before. And it was _only_ Tsuna's mother. She couldn't hurt a fly. She was where Tsuna got it from. It was okay. He'd get this over with and get Tsuna's books back to him. And _maybe_ he could take credit for the tea and soup, too.

And, on the very very very very very slim chance that something _did_ happen, he was _more_ than capable of protecting himself.

Why the _fuck_ was he so scared of being alone with Tsuna's mother in the kitchen, anyway? This was Tsuna's _mother_.

He took a deep breath and crossed through the threshold into the kitchen, Tsuna's textbooks in his arms.

"Hibari-kun, could you please get the serving tray from under the stove for me?" Nana asked, offering him another one of her charming, motherly smiles.

"You're… In a good mood, Sawada-san." Hibari ventured. The words felt stiff on his tongue, but it was better than nothing. Better than disrespectful silence. He set the pile of textbooks on the dining table and retrieved the serving tray as Nana had asked him to. Out of pure habit, he wiped it down to make sure it was perfectly clean - not that Nana's kitchen was dirty, and Hibari wouldn't dare speak up on such a matter.

"I am!" Nana laughed, pouring water into a kettle and setting it to boil on the stove. "Thank you for noticing! I'm not sure if you boys heard anything, but Iemitsu stopped by - I know, I know, it shouldn't have been a happy thing, and I should have chased him out with a shoe, but hear me out! He brought back the signed divorce papers for me to file. Best of all, he'll still be covering Tsu-kun's expenses. Child support is such a wonderful thing."

Hibari blinked at her, eyes widening just a fraction. Was Tsuna's mother _always_ this talkative? The words settled around him, a heavy weight despite the innocent and carefree tone in which Nana had spoken. They overwhelmed him. He can't recall Tsuna - or even Takeshi - speaking so much in such a short span of time before. He inclined his head in a slight nod, letting out an agreeable hum. What else could he say?

"I'm so glad to have you and Takeshi-kun around, too, you know." Nana spun the subject around, chattering amicably as she brewed the tea and made the soup. "You've been so wonderful to him, Hibari-kun. He's been smiling and laughing again. He's enjoying life again."

Nana turned to face Hibari, smiling brightly at him. "Tsu-kun really likes you. You mean a lot to him, you know. He talks about you so reverently. It's quite cute."

Hibari blinked again. "…I don't know about _reverently_ …"

"Oh, but he adores you." Nana giggled. "He goes on and on about how strong and confident you are, and how he wants to be more like you."

Hibari's pride swelled at the same time as his stomach sank. On one hand, Tsuna admired him so much to want to attain his strength. On the other… He hoped that Tsuna would _never_ have to experience what _he_ went through to become as strong as he is. "…I'm flattered…"

"But, Hibari-kun, do be gentle with my son." Nana's smile softened from bright to gentle and motherly. "He looks up to you. I dare say he even _likes_ you."

Hibari looked away. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he hoped that Tsuna's mother couldn't see. He wasn't sure what to say to that. Fortunately, he didn't have to say anything, as the kettle whistled and grabbed Nana's attention faster than Hibari could blink. He watched her whirl around and finish making the tea, tasting the soup. She seemed satisfied, and filled the serving tray Hibari had given her.

"There. And there's room for the books, too. Take these up to Tsu-kun, will you? You can even tell him you made the tea, if you like." Nana winked at Hibari, and he felt his cheeks heating up again.

Hibari inclined his head before putting Tsuna's books on the tray and taking them upstairs. His gait was stiff and awkward, but he still mounted the stairs with relative ease. Once he was out of Nana's line of sight, he relaxed. After one last glance down the stairs, he slipped into Tsuna's room.

"Hibari-san…?" Tsuna blinked, pushing himself into a sitting position. "What took so lo—… Oh. Food."

"Your mother cornered me." Hibari grunted, placing the tray in Tsuna's lap. Before Tsuna could dive into his textbooks and ignore his food, Hibari swiped them up. He set them on the far side of Tsuna's desk and slanted his eyes in a disapproving gaze and a tilted of his head. "Eat first."

"Right… Sorry."

Tsuna offered Hibari a sheepish smile. He focused on his soup and picked at it. He wasn't all that hungry, but he knew that if he didn't eat, he'd just get worse, especially since he hadn't eaten anything all day. Maybe _that_ was why all the words in the books had been morphing into swirling, illegible monsters.

While Tsuna ate, Hibari returned to his watchful guard at the window. His gaze scanned the street in front of the house, as far as he could clearly see. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean he could let his guard down. After all, Iemitsu had popped up when no one had expected to see him. Clearly that meant that Hibari should be _ever_ vigilant while in Tsuna's house, even if all he wanted was to relax and enjoy the only time he wasn't required to discipline any rule breakers. A figure down the street caught Hibari's attention. He leaned out the window a little, hoping to get a better look, but had no such luck. Forced to wait until the figure eased its way closer, Hibari grumbled. People walked so slowly.

The figure eventually came into view and Hibari blinked. "…Reborn is back."

Tsuna choked on the last spoonful of his soup. A coughing fit followed while he tried to regain his breath. " _What_."

"Reborn." Hibari repeated. "He's back."

Tsuna put the serving tray on the desk and got out of bed. He padded around Hibari and looked out his window. "…We should tell mom."

Hibari cringed inwardly. He'd hoped he was done dealing with parental units for the day. He sighed and left the room, with Tsuna padding after him.

"Mom!" Tsuna called, voice hoarse from his coughing.

He wobbled a bit as he walked toward the kitchen. Hibari sighed and steadied Tsuna. "Take it easy. You'll fall over."

"Tsu-kun?" Nana blinked, walking out of the kitchen. "Hibari-kun? What's wrong?"

"Uncle Reborn is back. We saw him down the street." Tsuna bit his lip, looking up at his mother. "Does he know that… _he_ came by?"

"Oh, no, not yet. I was going to call him, but I thought he was still in Italy." Nana tilted her head. She walked over to the door. "Actually, I should call Tsuyoshi-san, too… Maybe we can all celebrate…?"

Before Nana could open the door to wait on the steps for Reborn, the door opened itself. Reborn stood on the other side, hand on the doorknob. His face was shadowed by his fedora, but Nana could still tell that he was tense. His shoulders were set square apart and his jaw was tight. She couldn't see, but she was sure that his eyebrows would be knit together. Nana opened her mouth to speak, but Reborn beat her to the punch.

"We've got bad news," he said.

Reborn's words punctured the air and a heavy weight settled over everyone. Silence buzzed in their ears, waiting for Reborn to continue, to explain what the hell was going on.

"The first three heirs have all been murdered."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops i almost forgot today was sunday
> 
> i have most of the chapters done but it's likely i'm gonna miss a sunday or two from here on out because classes begin tomorrow!! wish me luck on the new semester
> 
> (why did i think 8am classes would be a great fucking idea)
> 
> as always, mistakes are my own.


	19. now its time to build from the bottom of the pit right to the top

Sawada blood ran cold. Nana kept herself calm and composed, but her eyes were wide. They shone, wet with the threat of tears. Tsuna swallowed, but it stung. He started coughing again, covering his mouth with the crook of his arm.

"…So Tsu-kun will have to…"

"I'm afraid so."

"…What will happen to Sawada." Hibari bit his way into the conversation.

Reborn and Nana looked at each other. Nana bit her lip.

"Hibari-kun, take Tsu-kun upstairs," she said. "And come back down to the living room. We'll tell you."

Reborn arched his eyebrows. "Weren't we going to let Tsuna tell him on his own?"

"…I want him to know. But you'd be better at explaining it than me…" Tsuna said. "…You know a lot more than I do, anyway. But I want to stay and listen. Sick or not, I need to know what's happening now, right…?"

He paused to cover a coughing fit in his arm again. "So it'll just be easier to say it all at once… Instead of repeating it to me while I'm stuck in bed…"

"Right…" Reborn sighed. He looked at Nana. "I think tea is in order. For all of us."

"No coffee…?" Nana asked, blinking up at him in surprise. She knew it was serious, but for Reborn to abstain from his caffeinated god… Nana's brows creased. "Okay. Tea. I'll go get that ready."

"We'll wait in the living room."

Reborn ushered Hibari and Tsuna toward the den. Hibari growled, moving away to walk on his own. He half expected Tsuna to move with him, but wasn't surprised (if mildly disappointed) that Tsuna let Reborn nudge him along. Must be the sick.

"Mom has good news, if you want to let her speak first…" Tsuna picked at his fingers as he sat down on the couch, curling his legs under him.

"Perhaps we should save the good news for last." Reborn said. He grabbed the throw blanket and tossed it over Tsuna.

Hibari sat down with Tsuna, reasonably close to him but still on the end. He propped his elbow on the arm of the sofa and rested his chin in his palm, waiting for things to get interesting. He blinked, glancing over beside him, but otherwise didn't move when Tsuna slumped against him. The brunet's breathing was heavy, but he was still awake. Barely. That's it. He was never allowing Tsuna to overwork himself again. Not on his watch, anyways.

"Okay. Good news last… Got it." Tsuna coughed.

"Tea's ready." Nana announced. She swept into the room, bearing a serving tray identical to the one Hibari had carried up to Tsuna not even an hour ago.

Before Nana could sit with the two boys, the doorbell rang. She blinked a few times, and looked questioningly at Reborn, who shrugged.

"Go answer it," Reborn said. "We can wait."

Nana glanced at her boys, brow creasing at how pitiful Tsuna looked, before sighing. She nodded, and left the room. Opening the door, she nearly started in surprise. "Tsuyoshi-san."

"Nana." Tsuyoshi offered a smile. "Reborn called. He said it was important, and that we should all be together."

"Ah… Yes." Nana nodded. She stepped aside, letting Tsuyoshi into her home. "It's… Pretty bad. _But_ , I do have… Good news. For after Reborn-san's report."

Tsuyoshi smiled again, stepping inside. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be okay."

 

Tsuyoshi learned the hard way that the report was _not_ okay.

"All three of the most qualified heirs to take Vongola Nono's place have been killed," Reborn said. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees. Steepling his fingers, he rested his chin on them. "Enrico foolishly lost a duel that cost him his life. It's uncertain whether or not he was baited into it. Matsumo was second in line. He drowned. Lastly, Federico. His cause of death is unknown, as all they found of him was bone."

Nana gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. She closed her eyes and turned into Tsuyoshi's side, shaking. Tsuyoshi wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her back.

"What does that mean for Tsuna?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"It means I have to put his grades on the back burner," Reborn said. His gaze flickered to Hibari. "But I'm sure you can handle that. He's already shown a remarkable improvement, and I'm quite certain I had little to do with it."

Tsuna's cheeks burned, and he pulled the throw blanket over his head. "Get on with it…"

"Right." Reborn sighed. "Given the way the others were killed, I think it's wise that you start learning more than just self defense. I think it's time we start working on teaching you what your great-great-great grandfather was so known for. They called it the Dying Will. We'll begin as soon as I can have the equipment I need shipped over."

"Equipment…?" Nana tilted her head.

"Vongola technology - including a vitamin supplement to help stimulate the Dying Will," Reborn explained. He caught Nana's worried look, and sighed. "It's perfectly safe, I promise."

Tsuyoshi rubbed Nana's back. "He cares about Tsuna just as much as you do. He wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"I'm right here," Tsuna said, pouting.

"Who were these people and why are their deaths related to Sawada." Hibari grit his teeth. He didn't like not knowing - he couldn't help Tsuna if he didn't know.

"Do you want the extended history or the Cliff Notes?" Reborn cut him a glance.

"…Cliff notes version is fine," Hibari said. "For now."

"Very well. Tsuna?"

Tsuna huffed, resulting in another coughing fit. Hibari supplied him with the tea Nana had made - Tsuna's cup in particular had a spoonful of honey and a dose of cold medicine sitting next to it. Tsuna looked up at Hibari, still covering his mouth from the coughing.

"…Apparently I'm the great-great-great grandson of the original boss of some power crime organization in Italy called 'Vongola'."

Hibari's eyebrows shot up to his hairline. His lips twitched ever so slightly, and it was clear to Tsuna that Hibari was trying making a valiant effort to _not_ start laughing like a hyena. "You. A mafia heir. _You?_ "

"…Apparently." He managed a smile, but it shook. He was scared. He thought he'd be ready, if the time ever came. But he was wrong. He wasn't ready. He turned his frightened gaze to Reborn. "What… What _is_ this Dying Will…?"

"In short, it's harnessing what is essentially your life-force into a high density energy that can be used in combat," Reborn explained.

Nana chewed on her lip. "But that _does_ sound unsafe."

"I can assure you, there's been no evidence to suggest that harnessing the Dying Will has any truly adverse effects on users," Reborn said. "Before we really start anything, though, we'll need to figure out exactly what kind of wave energy - the kind of life force - you have."

"Kind?" Tsuna sat up a little. "What do you mean 'kind'?"

"There are seven different kinds that we know of," Reborn said. "Mist, Cloud, Sun, Storm, Rain, Lighting, and the rarest of all, Sky. As you can imagine, each type has different defining attributes. We'll get into that later, though."

"If you had to guess?" Nana asked. "Could you guess what type Tsu-kun is?"

"I could be wrong, but it stands to reason that Tsuna would hold the Sky - his ancestor did, after all. And despite its rarity, Sky has been the flame for nearly all subsequent Vongola bosses after the First." Reborn sighed. "We'll know for sure once we start training. Until then, Tsuna, rest. Get better. Don't overwork yourself _again_."

Tsuna squirmed under his blanket, sipping his honey-tea after (finally) taking his cold medicine. "Yes, sir."

Reborn tilted his head toward the door. "That means get your scrawny ass back in bed, kiddo."

Tsuna blinked and frantically put his cup of tea back on the serving tray. He pushed himself off the couch and took his leave of the room. Chancing a glance back, he wondered if Hibari would come with him, or if his mother would follow with a fresh cup of tea. Neither moved, though Hibari did make eye contact. The prefect just nodded toward the door, as if telling him to go. As if telling him he'd be up soon. Tsuna figured he wanted to know more - more than Tsuna could tell him, anyway.

 

Once Tsuna was up stairs and, hopefully, in bed, Hibari focused back on Reborn and the others. His gaze zeroed in on Reborn, eyes shining like steel. "Whatever Sawada gets dragged into, I want in."

Nana breathed a sigh of relief, all but collapsing against Tsuyoshi. She had hoped Hibari would stick around. Tsuyoshi had to chuckle. Reborn actually smiled.

"Good," he said. "Because Tsuna is going to need his Guardians. With you so graciously volunteering, we'll only need to find five more."

Hibari tilted his head to the side. "I don't do crowds."

"If you intend to stick around with him, you won't have much of a choice. Regardless of whether or not Tsuna exhibits the Sky flame, he'll need six Guardians," Reborn continued. "One for each flame he _doesn't_ have. One each to bear the Vongola rings. I wouldn't say they're the _source_ of Vongola power, but they are, at the very least, powerful catalysts. You could argue that they have power all their own."

Hibari grunted, but relented with a sigh. "Fine. But only because I don't trust anyone other than myself and the baseball freak to keep an eye on him."

Tsuyoshi arched an eyebrow. "Did you just volunteer my son, kid?"

"Tch." Hibari scoffed. "You wouldn't be able to stop him."

Tsuyoshi barked out a laugh. "You're right. Not a soul in the world could stop him from sticking around. Sometimes I think the three of you are attached at the hip."

"We're not." Hibari scoffed again, looking away. He wouldn't admit that he rather liked being around the two of them - the feeling of inclusion without the feeling of weakness. Takeshi was strong, Hibari could tell that, even if Takeshi himself didn't know it. And Tsuna had potential - he was no longer the weak herbivore that got shoved in lockers or bullied into after-school cleaning, but he wasn't quite a carnivore. Yet. Hibari would make him one, though.

Tsuyoshi just chuckled. He turned his head to Reborn. "Then I'll tell Takeshi everything tonight. That just makes finding four more Guardians, right, Reborn?"

"Yeah." Reborn nodded. "As unpleasant as this sounds, I suggest we let them come to us, however. Since the first three candidates have already been killed, it stands to reason that the assassins will try and come after Tsuna."

"… Are you suggesting an assassin become responsible for guarding Tsu-kun's life?" Nana blanched. Whether it was the idea of someone coming after her baby, or the idea of that same someone turning into a Guardian that scared her so much, no one could really tell.

"No, don't worry," Reborn said. "I'm suggesting that Tsuna is going to become something of a gathering point. If people think he's a legitimate heir, they're going to want to be nearby - like trying to get on someone's good side to gain favors. Don't worry about Tsuna's safety. I'll be handling each candidate personally, including my own thorough background checks."

Nana nodded, but her lips remained pursed into a thin line and her jaw set. She was clearly still worried, but she trusted Reborn more than she trusted anyone.

"…If that's all I need to know, I'm going back upstairs." Hibari stood. He carefully picked up Tsuna's abandoned cup of tea and turned to leave. No one stopped him, and he disappeared down the hall and up the stairs.

 

"Well!" Nana clasped her hands together, trying to keep them from shaking. "Now that the dreadful news is done with and it's just us…"

She bit her lip. Was it really over and done with? No, of course it wasn't. But she couldn't stay scared forever. Besides, even the imminent danger of everything they've known couldn't put a damper on the news she had for the two men in her life.

"Ah, right," Tsuyoshi said, lips curling into a grin. "You said you had good news for us."

"I do!" Nana managed a smile while sitting up straight.

"Oh?" Reborn tilted his head. "And what could have you positively beaming after a discussion like that?"

"Iemitsu returned the divorce papers, signed and everything," Nana said. "He brought them this morning. I just have to turn them in to the office and that should be the end of it!"

"That _is_ good news." Reborn smirked. "That means we don't have to hunt him down and shoot him in the foot."

Tsuyoshi laughed. He kissed Nana's cheek. "I'm glad for you."

Nana blushed and giggled, waving her hand. "Oh, stop. It's only a little thing, compared to what Tsu-kun's going to have to deal with soon… He'll be okay, won't he?"

"He's a strong kid," Reborn said. "And he's got Takeshi and Hibari looking out for him - I don't think it can get any better than that."

"Takeshi won't let anything happen to him." Tsuyoshi agreed. "And Hibari sounded like he was about ready to go raise hell in town at the very _idea_ of someone coming after Tsuna, crowd or no crowd. Even if Reborn has to leave on assignment, Tsuna's in good hands."

"I hope you're right…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hedlixuofgh I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG 
> 
> school swamped me and i'm no closer to getting out from under my massive amount of work weeps loudly (I still have to finish Wuthering Heights, Troilus & Criseyde, and read the next part of White Teeth, _shoot me now_ )


	20. it all began with you

Tsuna, finally over his cold, was back at school. Hibari surprised him, changing their lunch session venue from the Committee Room to the roof, but Tsuna wasn't going to complain about it - it was fairly warm, and the sky was clear. A few white wisps of cloud puffed slowly along the open blue expanse. If not for the uncomfortable feeling in his gut, he just might have dared to ask Hibari if this was his equivalent of a date - because, knowing Hibari, he probably _would_ have thought that the school was the perfect place to have a date. Especially in the middle of the day, at _lunch_. Before the knot could twist and turn in his stomach any more than it already had, Tsuna decided to ask Hibari what they were doing on the roof instead of the Committee Room - to ask what they were doing instead of their usual homework tutoring sessions.

"Why are we up here, Hibari-san?" He asked, blinking as he took a bite of his lunch. "We usually study in your office."

"It's a nice day out," Hibari said, shrugging. "And you have to start that flame training thing today, don't you? I thought I'd be generous and give you a rest."

Tsuna blinked again, feeling his cheeks heat up. That _was_ generous of him. "Hibari-san…"

"Don't." Hibari looked away. "It's just a free lunch. Besides, Yamamoto will be here soon. You need to tell him what you told me."

"Oh… Yeah…" Tsuna bit his lip. So that was why Hibari had dragged him up to the roof - so he could tell Takeshi about the information that Hibari was newly privy to, that Tsuna had wanted so badly to keep his friends uninvolved in. "You're okay with it, right? It's not… Weird?"

"Jeez, Sawada, it's not like you have a disease or anything." Hibari rolled his eyes. "It's not like you can change who your ancestor is, either."

"… So… You don't mind?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

Tsuna smiled. "… So you'll still be my friend?"

Hibari rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. Someone has to keep an eye on you. Someone has to make sure you don't kill yourself."

"Hey, guys!" Takeshi joined them on the roof, grinning. "Did I miss anything?"

"Ah, Yamamoto-kun, hi!" Tsuna smiled, waving at him.

"You're late."

Yamamoto laughed, settling down with them. "Sorry, I had to charm my way out of lunch detention. Apparently my English skills are offensive."

"Moron."

Tsuna smiled a bit, waving his hands. "Play nice, guys, please?"

"Fine."

"Sorry, Tsuna."

Tsuna relaxed. He lowered his hands to go back to eating. "Oh, Yamamoto-kun, we have… Well, _I_ have something _really_ important to tell you…"

"That doesn't sound good." Takeshi tilted his head. "Everything okay? You're not dying on us, are you?"

"No!" Tsuna's eyes widened. "No, of course not."

"That's good," the baseball player said, smiling. "So, what's up?"

"Well…" Tsuna picked at his fingers. "I…"

"Just spit it out already, Sawada," Hibari snapped. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Like I said, it's not your fault."

Tsuna jumped. He smiled sheepishly, lowering his head. "Sorry."

He looked up at Takeshi. "… I found out several weeks ago that I'm… I'm—"

Hibari sighed. "He's the heir to an Italian mafia family. Courtesy of his great-great-great grandfather. There. I said it. Do you feel better now, Sawada?"

Tsuna bit his lip and nodded. "Sorry. It's still… Hard. Letting other people know. Reborn said I shouldn't tell anyone unless I _really_ trusted them, but… I'm still afraid of… Y'know, the only friends I've got leaving me…"

"Tsuna, we're not going anywhere," Takeshi said, smiling. "Dad told me about himself and his past with your dad the other night. We're cool, I promise."

Tsuna blinked. He looked up at Takeshi. "Really?"

"Yeah, we're good." Takeshi laughed. "But, seriously? You? You always seemed far too innocent for something like that."

"I always thought I was too… No-good for that…" Tsuna looked down. "But… Hibari-san and Reborn, and even Yamamoto-kun have all been really great and I don't feel so… Worthless anymore."

"You'll be great," Takeshi said. "I know you will. And I'll be with you the whole time."

"We." Hibari took a bite of lunch, as if he hadn't uttered a word.

Takeshi laughed. " _We_ will be with you the whole time."

"Ah…" Tsuna smiled. "I'm glad… That makes me feel a lot better about all of this… At least I won't be alone."

"As if I'd let a bunch of strangers be your so-called 'Guardians'," Hibari huffed. "This way there's only four people left that we don't know about. I can manage dealing with four strangers..."

"I think the three of us can handle that," Takeshi said, laughing. "Let's just hope that our eventual strangers will get along with _each other_."

"Yeah…" Tsuna nodded. "…If… If I have to have a family… I want everyone to at least get along… But if not, I'm glad I'll at least have you two. My first Guardians. My first _friends_."

"Speaking of _friends_ _…_ " Takeshi grinned. "You know you don't have to call me 'Yamamoto' - it's a mouthful, I know, and besides, it makes me sound kind of like my dad."

Hibari just snorted. He took another bite of his food, pretending to be uninterested. But, he didn't miss the way Tsuna's eyes lit up as if Takeshi had just given him the sun itself. He _almost_ felt tempted to tell Tsuna to call him by name, too, but he figured Tsuna would call him 'Hibari-san' for the rest of his natural life, regardless of what he told him to do. Strangely, he didn't mind. Even stranger, he even _appreciated_ the thought of being in Tsuna's life in _some_ way for that long.

"Takeshi-kun." Tsuna smiled, before turning his attention to Hibari. "And _you_ don't have to keep calling me 'Sawada', either."

Hibari paused. He thought about that, mulled it over in his head while he ate his lunch. He tried to weigh the pros and cons of such a choice, but he couldn't think of any actual cons. Finally, after what felt like forever - to Tsuna, at least - Hibari spoke. "…Tsunayoshi."

If Takeshi had given Tsuna the sun, Hibari had just handed him the moon, the sky, and the very heavens themselves. Those bright brown eyes, Hibari swore they _sparkled_.

 

School had yet to be over for an hour, and Reborn already had him under his thumb. Tsuna wished he could have at least spent a just a _little_ more time with Hibari and Takeshi. Unfortunately, he was dragged from school, literally. Reborn had personally picked him up at the gates, and everyone that wasn't Hibari or Takeshi had scattered like terrified squirrels, where they watched with bated breath for this tall, darkly dressed, and ridiculously handsome 'stranger' to do something terrible to No-Good Useless Tsuna. As if that would ever happen. But then again, Tsuna's idea of 'terrible' had shifted drastically since Reborn had entered house and home.

Now they were sitting in Tsuna's yard, in the grass and under the tree. Or, Tsuna was. Reborn had perched himself comfortably on the wooden porch. How was that fair? Tsuna was gonna get dirty, sitting under the tree like that. He could already feel the bugs and spiders crawling up his back. He shivered.

"Focus, Tsuna."

"Ah—!" Tsuna yelped. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to space…"

"Easy, kiddo." Reborn chuckled. "Seriously, focus. See how close you can get without the vitamin supplements first."

Tsuna sighed, and nodded. "Okay. What exactly am I looking for, again…?"

"Not looking," Reborn said. "You're not looking for anything, you're _feeling_ for it. You're feeling for your inner energy, and you're going to need to tell me what it feels like. I won't be able to tell what kind of Flame you have otherwise, unless we somehow get it to manifest."

"Okay…" Tsuna inhaled deeply. "Okay. Feeling. _Feeling_. I've got this."

He breathed, settling into a comfortable position on the grass, folding his legs under him. He closed his eyes and folded his hands into his lap. He knit his brows together, trying to concentrate. Seconds ticked into minutes and minutes dragged on for eternity. Eternity dragged on to infinity.

"I don't feel anything, Reborn…" Tsuna sighed.

He opened his eyes. They held just a glimmer of the marigold that Reborn caught sight of at the Sawada Family Disaster weeks ago. Reborn sighed, as well. Tsuna's eyes weren't nearly as blazing as they had been when he was angry.

"Alright, we'll try one of the supplements, then."

"Okay," Tsuna said, sighing. He held out his hands for the vitamins. "Let's try this again…?"

Reborn nodded, handing Tsuna a small pill capsule and a bottle of water. "Remember, don't overdo it."

"Yeah, I know." Tsuna took the pill, swallowing it with a gulp of water.

Settling back down, Tsuna closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap again, trying to focus. This time, it took what felt like an instant for Tsuna's forehead to light ablaze with the gentle orange of the harmonious sky. When Tsuna opened his eyes, they burned bright and steady.

"Well, I'll be damned." Reborn chuckled softly.

"What? I don't…" Tsuna tilted his head slightly. "I don't feel any different, Reborn…"

"Here," Reborn said. He laughed, handing Tsuna a small mirror he'd picked up in case something like this happened. "See for yourself, kiddo."

Tsuna blinked slowly. He took the mirror and held it up, tilting his head to the other side. "…This is me? Really…?"

"That's you alright. The color tells you what kind you have - that orange means Sky. How does it feel now?"

"Even seeing it… I don't really feel all that different…" Tsuna studied himself in the mirror. "…Stronger, I guess, but I don't feel like it's… _my_ strength, exactly… I don't know how to explain it. It feels older than me."

"Probably your bloodline," Reborn said. "You're directly descended from the original founder of the Family. Aside from your deadbeat father, you're the First Boss's only living descendant."

"Really? But what about the current leader?" Tsuna asked, blinking. The flame fizzled out, and his eyes returned to their doe-eyed brown.

"Focus, Tsuna."

Tsuna blinked. He nodded and closed his eyes again, putting the mirror down. He tried to focus, knitting his brows together while letting his shoulders relax. The gentle orange flame flickered back to life.

"I'm going to tell you about the First, Tsuna," Reborn said. "But I want you to try and stay focused the whole time. You'll need to be able to maintain that flame even when distractions are coming at you from all sides."

The flame flickered briefly, threatening to die before Tsuna focused and brought it back to life. Reborn nodded, pleased, before continuing his speech.

"The First, your great-great-great grandfather, was called Giotto. The current boss, the Ninth has no relation to Giotto, like the others that preceded him," Reborn continued. "The current bloodline is descended from the Second, Ricardo. Ricardo was a major player in a coup that resulted in Giotto and some of his guardians fleeing to Japan in exile."

With each word uttered, the flame on Tsuna's forehead flickered and danced. It blazed at the mention of the coup, but it didn't seem angryor even hateful. Reborn tilted his head. It seemed as if Tsuna's flame _remembered_ that time. "There's no question. That's definitely the First's flame. This will quell any doubt that might come up on your legitimacy."

"How do you know what the First's flame looks like?" Tsuna opened his eyes. They still burned marigold, rivaling the flame on his forehead in intensity. "I mean, if he's been dead for a long time, how would you know?"

"You'll have to see for yourself. Maybe we'll take you to Italy one day and you can see the photos and paintings of Giotto with your own eyes." Reborn chuckled. "But I've seen them, and you'll have to trust me. You could pass for his twin, if he were alive today. Flame and all. Tsuna, your flame is even responding to what I told you about Giotto's eviction from Italy."

"Really?" Tsuna sat up straighter. The flame on his forehead fizzled out and all that remained was the marigold burning in his eyes. But, that, too, was fading out.

"Focus." Reborn repeated for the umpteenth time that day. "You need to be able to keep that flame going even if you're in the midst of battle, do you understand that?"

Tsuna shook his head, slumping. "I _was_ focused. And now I'm exhausted."

Reborn sighed. Tsuna looked up at him, despite his lids feeling so heavy they threatened to shut over his eyes like a one ton hammer. Was Reborn mad? No… He's pretty sure he'd _know_ if Reborn was mad… But maybe he's… Disappointed? Somehow that felt worse than the idea of Reborn being angry.

"We'll stop for now, then," Reborn said. "You look like you're about to fall over, and you're not even standing. We'll continue tomorrow - every day until you can hold the flame for an hour. We'll use the vitamins for as long as it takes for you not to need them anymore."

"Okay."

 

Tsuna was burnt out, and he collapsed on his bed as soon as he got close enough to it. He couldn't even be bothered to pull his clothes off, he was so exhausted. He hadn't even _done_ anything, and he felt as if his body was made of lead. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes slid shut and he was done. He'd be out and unconscious for the rest of the night, off in a sleep so deep even dreams couldn't get to him.

Except, they could. And this was no ordinary dream.

"Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna whined, curling up and clinging to his blankets. He hadn't even bothered to crawl under them before he passed out.

" _Tsunayoshi_."

Tsuna bolted upright, blinking. He looked around, eyes wide. No light filtered through his bedroom window, leaving the room shrouded in darkness. But, strangely, Tsuna didn't feel at all frightened. He felt oddly at peace, as if he were returning home for the first time in a long time. Still, something felt… _Off_.

"There you are."

"Who's there?" Tsuna bit his lip, clutching his blanket.

"Relax, Tsunayoshi," the voice said. It was warm, and smooth - the vocal equivalent of melted chocolate. "You're safe, don't worry. You're still in your bed, sleeping away the day."

_He was still asleep_. So that's what felt off… He was _dreaming_ , yet this strange voice he didn't recognize was communicate with him. He's never had dreams like this before.

"Tsunayoshi, focus, please."

Ugh… If Tsuna heard the word _focus_ one more time, he was going to hurl. Or hurl _on_ someone. Or hurl something _at_ someone.

"I'm so tired of focusing…" Tsuna whined. "Just let me sleep…"

" _Decimo_."

Tsuna jolted, blinking. That word… Was it even a word? "What's a deeh-chi-mou…?"

He heard the other voice wince, but whoever it was didn't bother correcting his butchering of the word. So it apparently was a word…

"Focus and look at me, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna looked up, sleepy eyes focusing on the darkness in front of him. Eventually, a figure appeared, glowing just as bright as the flame on Tsuna's head had been earlier that day. Tsuna blinked twice and rubbed his eyes. "…You're…?"

"Giotto." The figure blazed before dimming down and revealing what could go for Tsuna's doppelgänger. "Or, as your dear Tutor has referred to me, I suppose I'm the First."

"…He said I looked like you," Tsuna said.

And Reborn was right. It was almost like looking in a mirror. Almost. Giotto was much taller. And blond. And looked… Not quite arrogant, but it was more than confident. Tsuna envied him.

"You do, a little." Giotto chuckled. "You look like a mouse, though."

Tsuna threw his pillow at him. "I do not. Hibari-san doesn't think so."

"Ah, your schoolboy crush." Giotto chuckles, closing his eyes. "Not a mouse, then. A kitten that has yet to grow into his claws and fangs."

"Why are you here - why am I not asleep?"

"You are asleep. You're dreaming, of course." Giotto tilted his head, as if what he'd said was the most sensible thing in the world. "Since I'm long dead, kiddo."

"…So what are you doing here?"

"Yes, about that." Giotto sat down on air, crossing his legs elegantly and with the practiced poise of someone in the public eye. "The flame is what brought me here, to you. Of course, I only exist in your head now. And I would like you to ask that tutor of yours not to repeat the history of my family. The story is not his to tell, and I would rather not have my dear ones slandered. Perhaps I might tell you myself one day, but first you must work hard. You are the heir to _my_ legacy - do not follow in the footsteps of Ricardo's heirs, dear _Decimo_."

"You keep saying that word," Tsuna mumbled. "Dee-chi-mou…"

Giotto winced again. " _Decimo._ It means 'tenth'. Anyway, remember that. You're _my_ heir, not Ricardo's, nor his descendants. Keep that in mind, and I will help you learn to control your power in ways that your tutor can't."

"…Okay… Can I wake up now?"

If this was going to happen every time Reborn had him in a training session with his flames, he was going to take up sleeping pills or see if there are any experimental dream suppressants available, because he didn't think he could deal with more nights like this.

"Just one more thing before I go," Giotto said, chuckling.

"What…?"

"Your Guardians will begin arriving soon."

"When?"

"You'll know when."

 

Tsuna woke up with a start, feeling more exhausted than he had before he'd passed out. Had those supposed vitamin supplements given him a bad trip? He ought to throw something at Reborn for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO YEAH HIGH I HAVE LIKE 2 MORE COMPLETE BUT THE LAST 3 OR SO CHAPTERS NEED FINISHING 
> 
> before anyone asks, this fic **_is not_** going to be covering the guardians in all their glory - the last couple of chapters, if I recall my notes correctly (they're not in front of me at the moment) are _mostly_ focused on Nana and Iemitsu. 
> 
> Except... Chapter 23.


	21. i believe that happiness is something we create

Weeks had dragged into months of grueling training. Training that left Tsuna exhausted and, in many cases, sleepless. Reborn was trying to kill him, he just knew it. He could feel it in his aching, sleepless bones. Tsuna had lost count of how many times he'd heard the word _focus_ and if he heard it again, he thought he might snap and go on a murderous rampage. It no longer sounded like a real word anymore, anyway. Fake word with fake importance and… And what…?

"Tsuna, are you okay?"

Tsuna nodded, but he hadn't quite registered what had been said and who had said it.

The Terrible Trio (as the whispers had been circulating around campus referred to them) sat on the roof together again. Hibari was feeling particularly generous in letting Tsuna off on tutoring again today. Or, at least, that's how Tsuna felt about it.

"Are you sure? You look kind of dead…" Takeshi knit his brows together.

"Yeah…" Tsuna yawned before taking a bite of his lunch.

"Okay," Takeshi said. He grinned. "If you're okay, I'm going to go take Hibari down to the Committee Room and bend him over his desk."

"Okay."

Hibari elbowed Takeshi, scowling. Takeshi wheezed, the rush of air exiting his lungs preventing him from laughing at Tsuna's lack of attention.  Tsuna blinked several times and finally focused on Hibari and Takeshi.

"…Wait, what?" Tsuna knit his brows together, trying to remember what Takeshi had said.

"I was _kidding_ ," Takeshi said, rubbing his side where a bruise promised to form from Hibari's senseless abuse. He pouted. "You didn't need to be so rough, Hibari."

"Take it back." Hibari hissed.

"Take what back?" Tsuna asked, tilting his head. "What did I miss?"

"Holy shit." Takeshi stared at Tsuna. "Did you actually _fall asleep_ while talking with us?"

"…I did?"

"Sawada, you should go home and rest." Hibari bit into his lunch, brows furrowed. "You've been falling asleep all day."

"N-no, I'm fine, really!" Tsuna waved his hands in front of him, trying to placate Hibari. "…Besides, Reborn is home… If I went home I'd probably have to practice more."

Takeshi popped a bite of food into his mouth. "Maybe we should take you to the Committee Room."

Hibari elbowed him again, eyes narrowed. Takeshi jerked out of the way, but not quickly enough. Hibari's elbow still grazed him, and Takeshi _knew_ he'd have a bruise by the end of the day, not just the promise of one tomorrow or the day after.

" _Ouch_ , Hibari!" Takeshi snapped his chopsticks at Hibari, frowning. "I didn't mean it like that. I was _joking,_ you know. I _meant_ that we should take Tsuna to the Committee Room so he can sleep on the couch or something. That way he can rest without Reborn finding him."

"Oh." Hibari frowned.

"What do you think, Tsuna? Want to skip the rest of your classes and go get some rest?" Takeshi asked, grinning.

Tsuna jolted, blinking. He looked at Takeshi, eyes wide but still somehow sleepy. "I'm sorry, what?"

Takeshi sighed, and smiled. He turned to Hibari. "That settles it, then. You want to carry him?"

"…Carry me? Where? Why?" Tsuna asked. He waved his hands again. "I'm fine, really!"

Hibari closed his unfinished lunch, and stood. "Get our things, Takeshi."

"On it," Takeshi said, grinning.

Takeshi finished his lunch in record time before he collected their bags. While Takeshi picked up their things and shouldered them, Hibari pulled Tsuna up off the concrete. After some finagling, Hibari finally got Tsuna up on his back. The three of them made their way down the stairs from the roof and toward the Committee Room.

Once in the room, Hibari gently dropped Tsuna onto the sofa, resting the brunet's head on the arm of the couch. He shrugged off his jacket and draped it over Tsuna's sleeping figure. Takeshi let out a snort, resulting in a well deserved glare.

"Sorry, sorry." Takeshi covered his mouth, stifling his laughter. "Sorry. It's just— You're really cute, you know? With Tsuna, I mean."

Takeshi leaned on the edge of Hibari's desk, watching Hibari and Tsuna - an admittedly boring sight, since Tsuna was dead to the world. He lowered his hand, still smiling. "You really care about him, don't you…?"

"Shut up."

"Yikes. It's just a question." Takeshi chuckled. "It's not like I'm going to parade the information around the school, you know. But you know Tsuna adores you, right?"

"Takeshi." Hibari growled.

"Just hear me out, Hibari, seriously." Takeshi continued, as if Hibari hadn't all but threatened him. "I just want you to know that you're not the only one that gives a damn about him— but you also should know that you're the one he looks up to the most. You're the one whose approval he wants, Hibari."

"So what."

"Hibari, are you listening?" Takeshi asked, slowly becoming more and more exasperated. "Tsuna _adores_ you. He loves you. I'm not trying to twist your arm or anything; I just wanted to let you know. So, if you care as much as you look like you do, throw him a bone, maybe?"

Hibari was quiet for a long time. He watched Tsuna's sleeping face while he let Takeshi's words sink into his skin. He'd already known most of what Takeshi had told him - he very clearly remembered the day Tsuna asked him to call him by name, and how Tsuna's lit up and positively beamed at him when Hibari had first uttered it. He knew well how Tsuna felt, but…

But what? Why was he so anxious about this? Takeshi had pretty much just told him to man up - and it's not like Tsuna's mother - or even his weird uncle - would disapprove. Hibari didn't exactly want to admit that Tsuna's mother, at least, seemed to be _encouraging_ him.

 

"So, what's it like, Nana?" Tsuyoshi asked, grinning. "Being a free woman?"

"I've always been free," Nana said, giggling. "Sort of. But, at least now I won't run the risk of becoming an adulteress or something scandalous like that."

Nana lifted her gaze to meet Tsuyoshi's, smiling. She stood on her toes, kissing his cheek. Tsuyoshi laughed, slipping his arms around the petite woman's waist.

"Oh? I wasn't aware rumors were spreading already."

"Oh, no, people have been whispering about Reborn-san, coming and going at all hours of the night. And day, as the case may be." Nana smiled, teasing.

"Seriously?" Tsuyoshi actually pouted. "Really? People are whispering about _Reborn_? Why does he get all the girls? I'll need to get him to tell me his secret!"

Nana rested her head on Tsuyoshi's chest. Her cheeks her from so much giggling. She slid her arms around Tsuyoshi's neck. "You're so silly. You know I like you. And that Reborn-san is like a big brother to me."

"Well, that's good to hear." Tsuyoshi laughed. He dipped in and kissed Nana's head. "…Iemitsu didn't know how good you are… He never had a clue… You truly are something special. A real life angel."

"Oh, stop," Nana said, blushing. She was glad her face was hidden in Tsuyoshi's shirt, hiding the pink tint to her cheeks. "I'm not _that_ great…"

"You're _wonderful_." Tsuyoshi grinned. "Like… One of those special, yet ordinary, everyday miracles, and you're amazing. But, I'll stop~. Since you asked me to."

Nana giggled softly, while her carefully maintained nails plucked gingerly at the hairs on the nape of Tsuyoshi's neck. "You make me feel like I'm in college again… It's nice…"

"Heh, I'm glad," Tsuyoshi said. Changing the subject, he moved on: "So, what are you going to do now?"

"Same thing I've always done, I guess…" Nana shrugged. "Parent Tsu-kun the best I can, keep working for you, pray that I can protect myself and my family from whatever Tsu-kun's future with Vongola brings us…"

"Any possibility of sneaking some tentative dating into all those plans…?" Tsuyoshi tried not to sound too hopeful. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Soreness pricked at Nana's cheeks as she started giggling again. She pat his chest and looked up at him. The giggling died into a timid smile, a less painful smile. She stood on  her tip toes again, and this time she pressed their lips together. It was innocent, but promised more to come in the future. Surprised, Tsuyoshi returned the kiss, his arms tightening around her thin waist.

"There's _definitely_ a possibility of that," Nana said. "I'd love to sneak dating into such a hectic life. On one condition."

"…Oh? And what condition is that?" Tsuyoshi arched his eyebrows.

"None of that _tentative_ nonsense~." Nana smiled up at him again. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and there was not a doubt in Tsuyoshi's mind that Nana was the most beautiful thing in the world. She continued, "Be confident. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"That's also good to hear." Tsuyoshi smiled. He ran his fingers through Nana's hair before lifting her chin and brushing their lips together. "So, how about a date this Friday? I know a great restaurant in town, and we can go catch a movie after, if you want."

"Sounds lovely," Nana whispered, returning his innocent peck. She looked up at Tsuyoshi, eyes crinkling again in playfulness. When she spoke again, her voice was teasing: "What's the restaurant? You'd better not be taking me to TakeSushi for a romantic date."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Nana," Tsuyoshi said, smiling.

 

Neither of them said anything about all the _tentative "_ dates" they'd had in the past, between before she'd demanded the divorce from Iemitsu, during the filing of the divorce papers… And now, months after the papers had finally gone through…

Nana didn't want to be _tentative_ anymore. She wanted bold and confident and _official_.

And she was finally going to get it.

 

"Hibari-san…" Tsuna curled up into a little ball, nearly falling off the couch.

Hibari and Takeshi looked over at the sleeping brunet. Takeshi just gave Hibari his best 'I told you so' look, as if to say _See? He even dreams about you_. Hibari glared at him. He turned his attention back to Tsuna. The brunet hadn't moved again.

"Well, I'm gonna go. The final bell rang like an hour ago and dad's probably wondering where I am, so." Takeshi pushed himself p off the desk and headed to the door. "Call me when he gets better, okay? And keep it clean!"

Before Hibari could retort, Takeshi vanished from the Committee Room. Hibari grit his teeth and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair before sitting next to Tsuna. He didn't want to wake him, but he wasn't keen on listening to Tsuna _dream_ about him, either

Fortunately for Hibari, he didn't have to wait too long for Tsuna to wake up. Tsuna sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. Instinctively, he grabbed Hibari's jacket before it could fall from his body. He blinked when he finally focused on the fabric and realized what it was. He lifted his head and looked up at Hibari, curious.

"…Hibari-san…?" Tsuna asked. His voice was thick from sleep. "Where am I? …Is this your jacket…?"

"Why?" Hibari tilted his head. Why did Tsuna want to know if it was his jacket or not - the arm band pinned on the sleeve should have been proof enough. "You're in the Committee Room. …You kept falling asleep at lunch while you were eating. Sometimes even while you were talking…"

"You brought me here so I could sleep…?"

"So…?"

"…You gave me your jacket as a blanket?"

"So what." Hibari looked away, feeling his cheeks burn. "What's—"

Tsuna effectively cut Hibari off from his scathing defense, silencing the prefect with a soft kiss to the cheek. If Hibari's cheeks burned before, they were flaming now. Hibari stubbornly turned his head away from Tsuna, jaw clenched and teeth grinding against one another.

"Thank you, Hibari-san…" Tsuna smiled, resting against him, letting his head fall on Hibari's shoulder. "Thank you. You're really amazing, you know…"

"I don't think so." Hibari sighed, letting Tsuna lean on him. It wasn't the first time, and he doubted it would be the last. "…You're the… _Interesting_ one."

Tsuna giggled. "I'm not interesting. I'm just me. But you… You've done so much for me… You didn't have to, but you did…"

Hibari rolled his eyes and ruffled Tsuna's hair. "I'm just looking out for a little animal."

"Your little animal." Tsuna looked up at him without moving his head.

"Hm?" Hibari tilted his head to finally look at Tsuna, eyes questioning. Had he heard Tsuna right?

"You heard me." Tsuna smiled. "If I have to be a little animal, I'm gonna be your little animal…"

Hibari blinked, but his lips twitched upward. "Yeah. You are."

"So…" Tsuna rested his chin on Hibari's shoulder again. "Reborn is giving me Friday off… For some reason I'm not going to question in case he changes his mind…"

"And you're telling me this because…?" Hibari glanced down at him.

"I was thinking…" Tsuna trailed off. "That maybe we could… Y'know… Go out. Just the two of us…?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Tsunayoshi?"

"Yes."

"How bold of you." Hibari chuckled softly, threading his fingers through Tsuna's hair. "What did you have in mind, little animal?"

Tsuna blinked. His cheeks burned and he hid his face in Hibari's shoulder. "I… Didn't think that far ahead. …I was prepared for a 'no', to be honest…"

Hibari snorted.

"…What _do_ you like to do?" Tsuna blinked.

Hibari blinked back, surprised. What _did_ he like to do? "Hm…"

Tsuna sat up and smiled. "We never did get to go to the theater!"

"If you want."

"It's a date." Tsuna slipped his arms around Hibari's neck and gave his cheek a small peck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLESS STUDENT EMAILS I HAVE OFFICE 2013 FOR FREE GOD BLESS
> 
> also November is coming up i'll be extra busy because of nano and cramming (finals are two weeks after the end of November)
> 
> I know I said there were 25 chapters total but i'm thinking it MIGHT end up being 24. I have no idea, really. As it stands now, i have one chapter left that is completely finished and three to finish writing - 23 is almost done and 25 is started. I feel like something is missing between 23 and 25 but for some reason, my notes aren't telling me _what that could possibly be_
> 
> also for the final time **don't ask about the guardians or i will chew your arms off** (in all seriousness, though, i'm not answering questions pertaining to them anymore)


	22. let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

"Oh. My. _God_."

"What?" Hibari tilted his head to see if Tsuna was okay. What had him so freaked out?

" _Look_." Tsuna reached up and moved Hibari's head, being careful not to poke him in the eye or something.

Hibari followed the movement, and arched his eyebrows. "I don't see— Oh."

"Yeah. _Oh_." Tsuna ducked behind Hibari, out of view. He stood on his tip toes behind Hibari, peeking over his shoulders to watch the sight that had him so worked up.

In front of them, sitting at a quaint little outdoor cafe table, Nana and Tsuyoshi were enjoying tea and cakes. They weren't close enough to hear, but Nana's smile was brighter than ever and she occasionally covered her mouth to politely cover a giggle or a laugh. Tsuna couldn't tell from how far away he and Hibari were. Tsuyoshi occasionally offered her a bite of his own confectionery treats. The sight made Tsuna (and Hibari) want to gag.

Were parents even _allowed_ to date? Was that even a thing that _happened_?

"Let's go, Hibari-san…" Tsuna tugged at his sleeve. "I don't want to keep staring. It's starting to get really creepy… And what if they catch us? Let's go, we'll miss our movie…"

"Yeah," Hibari said. "Let's go. It's weird, seeing them."

"Okay." Tsuna slipped passed Hibari, ambling in the direction of the local theater.

Hibari walked with him, easily catching up to Tsuna despite the brunet's head start. He had to shorten his strides once he caught up with  him, though, so he didn't out pace him with his longer legs. Tsuna greatly appreciated the gesture, but he would never tell Hibari so. He smiled. Hibari really was something special. Tsuna shifted closer to him. Hesitating, he chewed on his lip. Then, he slipped his hand into Hibari's.

He wasn't sure how Hibari would react, but he certainly didn't expect what he got. Despite his uncertainty, he thought for sure Hibari would pull away from him, maybe even scold him. But he never expected that Hibari would lace their fingers together. And that's just what Hibari had done. Tsuna felt heat surge up his arm, yet he shivered. He was sure that his palm was beginning to sweat. Could Hibari feel it, too…?"

"Calm down, Tsunayoshi."

"I—I am calm," Tsuna whispered.

"You're shaking." Hibari sighed. "Like you're about to run off like a frightened rabbit."

"It's just…" Tsuna hesitated again, except this time with words. "…I've… Sort of been dreaming about this for… Well, since we were kids…"

"Dreaming about seeing your mother dating?" Hibari smirked.

"No!" Tsuna whined. "I just… Never got farther than asking you out - in my dreams - because… I always expected to get turned down… I told you that…"

"I know." Hibari chuckled. "I know. I was teasing."

"That's just mean, Hibari-san…" Tsuna tried to sound upset, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling up at Hibari.

"Then why are you smiling?" Hibari smirked.

"Because it's hard to be upset when your dreams are coming true," Tsuna said, smiling.

"So is it how you dreamed it would be…?" Hibari tilted his head, trying not to sound too worried. Besides, what was here to worry about, anyway? It's not like this, right now, could be worse than what Tsuna had dreamed up. Could it…?

"Better." Tsuna smiled up at him. "So much better."

Hibari blinked and he smirked. Relief washed over him in a flood. He was amazed at how such simple words could drain away any doubt. "Better? How so?"

"You said yes," Tsuna said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. And, perhaps, to him, it was.

"… So basically you were dreaming about me rejecting you." Hibari arched his eyebrows. Was Tsuna secretly masochistic or something?

"…Well… I never thought you'd ever say yes…" Tsuna pouted as they walked into the theater together.

Hibari lifted their hands. "This is a yes. It will always be a yes."

 

"Don't look," Tsuyoshi said, grinning.

"Ah?" Nana lifted her head to do just as Tsuyoshi told her _not_ to do.

"Nana!" Tsuyoshi laughed. "Don't, you'll scare them off."

"Who?"

"Your son and the little Hellion of Namimori." Tsuyoshi chuckled. "Looks like they're on a date. Like us."

Nana clasped her hands together and she put the edges to her lips, smiling. "Really? How wonderful! Are they holding hands?"

Tsuyoshi glanced toward the two teenagers. "Doesn't look like it. Looks more like Tsuna's hiding behind Hibari and staring at us. Bet they're shocked to see parents actually dating."

"How cute," Nana said, covering her mouth to muffle a giggle. "I was worried, you know."

"Worried? About what?" Tsuyoshi asked, tilting his head.

"At first…" Nana sighed, dropping her hand and picking at her food. "I thought that maybe Hibari was just taking advantage of Tsu-kun's 'training' and using it as an excuse to bully him more than the other kids… When it started, Tsu-kun came home with more and more bruises, and bloodier and bloodier. I was worried.

"But I didn't say anything, because Tsu-kun always looked so happy. It was like someone put the fire back in his life and… And the way Tsu-kun just _looked_ at Hibari… He's always looked up at him like he was the most precious thing in the world…"

Tsuyoshi smiled and reached across the table. He took Nana's hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "To Tsuna, maybe he is. It's like something Takeshi told me - something he heard Reborn saying."

"Ah?" Nana tilted her head, curious.

"That all Tsuna really needed was for someone to believe in him." Tsuyoshi grinned a bit. "I'm going to assume he meant someone _other_ than a parent or relative - someone that Tsuna admired."

"Yeah…" Nana smiled. She laced their fingers together. "I guess that's true… I mean… We're family, right? We're _supposed_ to be supportive… And I think we've reached an age where kids rarely look up to their parents anymore."

"Ha!" Tsuyoshi barked in laughter. "Say what you will, but Takeshi still looks up to me!"

Nana arched an eyebrow at her friend - her date, her _romantic_ date. "Did you tell him about your history?"

"…Oh," Tsuyoshi hung his head. "Yeah. Guess that might have something to do with it."

"Perhaps." Nana giggled, forgetting to cover her mouth this time. That, and her hand was otherwise occupied with Tsuyoshi's.

The sushi chef lifted his head and grinned, bouncing back from Nana's playful jab. "But, hey! Not every kid has a dad as awesome as I am, right?"

"This is true," Nana said. Her smile was soft and warm. "So he's taking everything well…?"

"Yeah." Tsuyoshi grinned again, his chest puffing with pride. "Did I tell you he wants to take up the sword?"

"Oh?" Nana tilted her head. "Is that so? Will you let him?"

"I have him practicing the basics of the basics with the _shinai_ but I won't let him touch steel until he's officially made a Guardian," Tsuyoshi said. "He has no business touching steel until he knows what it is he's fighting for - and right now, I don't think he does, not yet. But I feel he'll learn very soon."

"I hope he'll be okay."

"He's a good kid - a strong kid." Tsuyoshi nodded. "He'll probably understand what it means before Hibari does. I'm not sure how much of Hibari's motivation is to keep an eye on Tsuna and protect him or his own pride."

"Ah… I think he truly cares about Tsu-kun," Nana said, smiling. "I see them now; they're walking away. Holding hands, even. Looks like they're headed to the theater - ah, I guess they really _are_ on a date! How wonderful."

"The theater?"

"Yeah."

Tsuyoshi smiled. "Let's not go to the movies, then. Wouldn't want to scare them off, right?"

"Ah?" Nana tilted her head. "Did you have something else in mind?"

"It's a surprise." Tsuyoshi winked.

 

That evening, Nana and Tsuyoshi stumbled into the Sawada house. They kicked off their shoes and carefully picked their way from door to living room and collapsed on the couch. Nana nearly fell into Tsuyoshi's lap, laughing. She lifted her legs and looked at her feet.

"I'm surprised they're not _bleeding_ , Tsuyoshi." Nana whined, but she was smiling. It was hard to keep from laughing again, too. "Who knew you could dance like that. Who knew _I_ could still dance like that. I haven't danced in…"

"Forever?" Tsuyoshi asked, laughing.

"Since my wedding," Nana clarified. "In… What, thirteen years…?"

"Well, if you want to, we can go dancing together more often."

"Oh, I'd like that very much," Nana said, smiling up at the other. "I'd love that, thank you."

Tsuyoshi chuckled softly and wrapped an arm around Nana's shoulders, tucking her close against his side. Nana sighed happily, snuggling up to Tsuyoshi. She laid her head down on Tsuyoshi's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Tsuyoshi smiled, kissing the top of Nana's head before resting his own head on hers.

"I had a great time tonight, Tsuyoshi…." Nana said.

"I'm glad."

Their peace and quiet with each other didn't last, however, when there was a knock at the door. Nana blinked her eyes open and lifted her head. Who could that be at this hour? Tsuna had a key, and she was pretty sure Hibari had access to Tsuna's key in the event that Tsuna fell asleep on the way home (again) or something like that… So who in the world could be at the door?

Nana sighed, this time not as happily, and extricated herself from both the couch and Tsuyoshi's arm. She offered him a smile before padding lightly toward the door, trying to keep off her feet as much as possible. Opening the door, she blinked several times in surprise. And then, recognition hit her in the gut with the force of fear and anxiety. Her hands flew up and she covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my God…"

"Nana?" Tsuyoshi joined Nana in the foyer, confused. She hadn't let the unknown guest in yet…? And then he saw why. He blinked. "You're…. You've come a long way."

Nana made a sound in the back of her throat, like she was trying not to start crying right then and there. If _he_ was showing up, what could have possibly happened…?

"I apologize for dropping in on such short notice," the stranger said.

"Oh, no no no, it's perfectly alright!" Nana waved her hands, much like her son does, and stepped aside, almost stepping into Tsuyoshi, in her haste to get out of the stranger's way. "Please, do come in Mr. …uhm…"

"Timoteo." Timoteo gave Nana a congenial smile. "I'm not here on official business, so you can just call me Timoteo."

"T-Timoteo-san…" Nana bit her lip. "If you're not here officially… Why _are_ you here…? Is it about Iemitsu…?"

"In a way," Timoteo said, stepping inside the house.

The three of them walked to the living room. Nana sat back down with Tsuyoshi, chewing on her lip and wringing her hands together. Her shoulders shook and she was pretty sure that, if she hadn't been chewing on her lip, her teeth would be chattering.

"W-Would you like some tea…?" Nana asked, picking at her fingernails. "I can make some…"

"Perhaps another time," Timoteo said. He offered Nana another smile, as if trying to sooth her nerves. "Please, do relax. I promise I'm not here for anything earth shatteringly important. Most of it, I'm sure you're already privy to."

"Should Reborn be here, or…?" Tsuyoshi put an arm around Nana, rubbing her shoulder with his thumb to soothe her.

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Timoteo waved a hand nonchalantly. "I wouldn't want to bother him right now anyway. I have him out on assignment, you see."

Nana nodded, understanding. "That must be why he gave Tsu-kun the day off… Will he be back soon?"

"I imagine so." The old man nodded. "He's always prompt in his work, and I know he doesn't like leaving you and young Tsunayoshi alone for long periods of time. But I see you have all the protection you need, Nana."

Tsuyoshi rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not _that_ anymore, you know…"

"But, still, the notoriety of the _Demon of the Crimson Rain_ does have a frightful reputation," Timoteo said, chuckling softly. "Only a fool would dare try anything with a force like that around. Reputations alone can be quite powerful, as I'm sure you're well aware."

"Well, I suppose that's something…" Tsuyoshi sighed. He gently rubbed Nana's shoulder again. "So, why _are_ you here?"

"I just wanted to…" Timoteo inhaled heavily, preparing himself. "Ascertain whether or not young Tsunayoshi would be able to take my place when the time comes, even after the… Unfortunate situation with Iemitsu."

Nana pursed her lips. "Reborn-san is doing everything he can. Despite the _unfortunate situation_ with my ex-husband, I, _unfortunately_ , cannot deny Tsu-kun his birthright."

"I see. That's… Very good."

"I apologize if I sound rude, but… was that all…?" Nana bit down on her lip so hard she drew blood.

"Oh, you're not rude at all," Timoteo said. He knit his bushy silver brows together, concerned about the blood. Nana didn't seem to notice. He continued, "it's a valid question, after all. Surely other business would call someone of my status all the way out to Japan, yes? That being said, I did want to _personally_ apologize for the situation with Iemitsu."

"Why?" Nana asked. She ignored her bleeding lip.

"Because I kept him very busy, _however_ , he could have very easily asked me if he wanted to take a leave of absence to see his family."

Nana nodded. "…I understand perfectly, Timoteo… I know he could have if he wanted to. That's what's so infuriating about it… Do you know he forgot how old Tsu-kun is? How do you forget how old your only son is…?"

"As I said, the situation with him has been unfortunate, and for that I apologize."

Tsuyoshi threaded his fingers through Nana's hair, lips pulled down in a frown at Timoteo. He glanced at Nana's expression and noticed the blood on her lip. He sighed and wiped it away with his thumb, keeping his touch light and gentle. "What else, Timoteo…?"

Timoteo tilted is head, almost confused, as if Tsuyoshi had accused him of something. And then he smiled. He crossed his legs and folded his hands over his knee. "Ah, yes. Forgive me, it must have slipped my mind. My age must finally be catching up to me."

Tsuyoshi and Nana glanced at each other, confused. They focused back on the ninth Vongola Boss. Nana picked nervously at her fingernails until the nail beds threatened to bleed. Tsuyoshi gently pried her hands apart before she could get that far. He looked back at Timoteo.

"You should probably get to the point before she hurts herself out of worry," he said.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Timoteo smiled. "I trust Reborn's reports wholly, but I would like to verify… Young Tsunayoshi has begun gathering his Guardians, yes?"

"Not exactly." Tsuyoshi ran a hand through his short hair. "He has two currently. Takeshi will be his Rain and we have reason to believe that Hibari will present as the Cloud. But Tsuna hasn't _gathered_ anyone. Hibari and my son volunteered themselves as Guardians because they care about him. And they have a general distrust of strangers when it comes to Tsuna - for which I don't blame them. He's their best friend, and they're his _only_ friends."

"Very good." Timoteo's smile never wavered. "But, if I may, I would like to send a choice of my own? He's a good kid, but needs a little guidance. And I believe it best to give young Tsunayoshi someone familiar with the world he'll be entering into."

"Who do you have in mind?" Tsuyoshi asked, knitting his brows together.

"A young misfit I believe will bond well with Tsunayoshi. He comes from a small but wealthy family, but he's been a runaway for quite a while. I believe Tsunayoshi will be a good influence on him."

"Who is this child you have in mind, Timoteo-san?"

"Gokudera Hayato."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 chapters leeeeeeeeeft. maybe.
> 
> 23 is done. 25 is started. idefk what happened to my notes on 24 cries loudly
> 
> fuq proofreading i'm so done I can't do it all myself cries


	23. though the truth may vary this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologizing in advance for all the stupid personal shit in the end note. Enjoy the chapter.

The Ninth Vongola Boss's visit was as short as it was unexpected. After Timoteo left (with promises to send this Gokudera Hayato child to Tsuna as soon as he could, and that he would personally keep in touch about Tsuna's progress), Nana and Tsuyoshi were left alone in the silence of Nana's empty living room.

"That…" Nana bit her lip. "That was unexpected… And worrying… That was the first time I've seen his face - heard anything from him - since the wedding… What do you think this Hayato-kun will be like, Tsuyoshi…? Do you think he'll be as good as Timoteo-san implied?"

Tsuyoshi shrugged. "I'd like to know that, too. The fact that he wants to personally plant a kid in Tsuna's inner circle worries me. I'm just hoping the kid will be loyal to _Tsuna_ rather than anyone else. If something happens to Tsuna, there's no future for the Family, so Tsuna's safety and comfort are the most important things."

"…Hibari-kun and Takeshi-kun will look out for him, though…" Nana looked up at Tsuyoshi, eyes watering. "Won't they…?"

"Yeah." Tsuyoshi smiled. He kissed Nana's forehead. "I know they'd give their lives for him, as much as I'd rather they wouldn't, but that's just me speaking as a father. Anyway, let's get you to bed, okay? It's been a long day."

"Okay," Nana agreed, smiling back at Tsuyoshi. "Carry me? My feet are killing me."

Tsuyoshi chuckled and stood up from the couch. He lifted Nana up in his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck for support. Nana giggled despite distress. Tsuyoshi certainly knew how to make her smile - and laugh - in spite of herself. He carried her upstairs, toward her bedroom. "Almost there."

"Oh! Wait, I want to say goodnight to Tsu-kun," Nana said. "Even though he's probably asleep by now."

"Alright." Tsuyoshi smiled. He stopped walking by Tsuna's door and started to let Nana down on her feet.

Nana stopped him, and smiled back. She knocked lightly on the door before cracking it open.

"Goodnight, Tsu-kun," she whispered into the darkened room. If Tsuna were awake, he'd hear her. If he were asleep, she wouldn't disturb him by waking him up on accident and he'd still, at least subconsciously, hear her. She didn't receive an answer, so she assumed that Tsuna was fast asleep, exhausted from his date with Hibari. She shut the door as quietly as she could, and smiled up at Tsuyoshi.

"Next stop, bed for you, miss," Tsuyoshi chuckled, toting Nana off to her bedroom.

"Tsuyoshi."

"Yeah?"

"…Would you stay with me tonight?"

"Yes."

 

Well, Takeshi wouldn't let him live this one down.

 

Tsuna couldn't sleep. Giotto kept talking to him at night, telling him stories of the first generation. He always sounded fond, as if the times he had with each of them were the best times of his miserable life (his words, not Tsuna's). But Tsuna just wanted a good night's sleep for once in the past month. That night in particular added to Tsuna's restlessness and inability to sleep. He'd heard the door knocking down on the first floor, and out of curiosity at who in the world could be visiting so late at night, he'd crept silently out of his room to sit at the top of the stairs and listen in on the conversation.

He wasn't disappointed - Vongola Nono had come to visit his mother for some reason or another, but it apparently wasn't too upsetting, because he didn't hear his mother start crying or anything… He'd had to slink a little closer to hear the latter half of the conversation, but he'd gotten used to controlling his movements and remaining quiet (thanks to Reborn's and Hibari's co-op Spartan Training…). With the much better vantage point for eavesdropping, Tsuna was surprised to find that Vongola Nono had showed up to help him gather his Guardians… Even if it was only one candidate, that was less stress on Tsuna… He wasn't sure he would ever be versed enough in those Flame energies that Reborn tried to explain to him to be able to properly choose his own Guardians… He felt that he seriously lucked out with Hibari and Takeshi.

Tsuna's mind buzzed restlessly as he tried to figure out what kind of person this Gokudera Hayato was. He'd overheard Vongola Nono talking about how he was a little rough around the edges - er, "in need of guidance" were the exact words, weren't they…? Tsuna groaned and rubbed his face when he'd made it back to his own bed without alerting the adults to his presence. This strange Gokudera Hayato sounded like he'd be a handful. Tsuna didn't want to deal too much trying to get some restless and quick-tempered runaway to play nice with his two best friends. His best friend and— and his boyfriend…? Gah, Tsuna didn't know anymore.

He looked at the clock and groaned again. It wasn't even midnight yet. He didn't think he'd get any sleep at this rate, so he might as well get up and do _something_. Anything was better than tossing and turning all night.

Maybe Hibari was still awake… Would Hibari even let him in? It was pretty late…

"I'm going to go see him…" Tsuna said to no one in particular. Who would he speak to, anyway? He sighed and dragged himself out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sweats and his orange "27" hoodie before peeking out of his room. He didn't want to risk his mother catching him sneaking out, since she was already probably asleep… He closed his door as quietly as he could and headed to his window. Easing it open, he slipped outside. He almost slid off the roofing tiles and for a brief moment; Tsuna thought he was going to fall to the ground and break his neck. Maybe he'd tell Hibari how he nearly died to go see him. Maybe the prefect might even laugh a little.

Tsuna carefully picked his way down the roof tiles. The height made him a little woozy, but he was determined. He didn't think he'd make it to the wall, not without killing himself, but the edge of the slanted roof was close enough to the ground if he hung down on his hands and dropped off  into the grass.

 

It took several minutes, but he finally made it to Hibari's house. The estate was huge, and Tsuna swallowed, taking in the sight he'd never thought he'd actually see in his life. He tiptoed passed the gate and up to the door, his bare feet scraping against the walkway. Before he could entertain the idea that Hibari wouldn't bite him to death for showing up so late, he lifted his hand to knock on the door.

And then he realized - Hibari could kill him for this. Or worse, he could be waking the prefect up from a decent sleep. Tsuna hesitated, hand hovering in front of Hibari's door. Should he knock…? Or should he go home and pretend he never tried to visit Hibari in the middle of the night? He chewed on his lip and screwed his eyes shut as he knocked on the door. This was it. There was no going back now. Seconds ticked into minutes and Tsuna's heart raced, faster and faster the longer it took for Hibari to answer the door. Panic coiled tightly in his stomach. _Oh god oh god oh god oh god_ he must be disturbing Hibari's sleep. That was the last thing he wanted. What if it put Hibari in a sour mood? What if Hibari bit him to death for trespassing…?

Another minute passed and Tsuna felt like he couldn't breathe. His heart nearly exploded in his chest and he had apologies sitting on the tip of his tongue, waiting to spring loose at the slightest provocation. The door slid open, inch by slow, dreadful inch.

"I'm—" Tsuna began, voice high and panicked.

"Tsunayoshi…?" Hibari blinked at the brunet, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing here…? It's after midnight…"

"…I… Couldn't sleep…" Tsuna whimpered. He waited for Hibari to hit him, but nothing came. He took in the sight of a disheveled Hibari, from his sleep wrinkled sweatpants, his bare chest, to his messy hair. Back to his bare chest. Hibari's bare chest and his bare arms that were covered in old scars and old, old burns. "…Hibari-san…?"

Hibari froze, terror freezing his veins. He made to slam the door, to prevent Tsuna from seeing any more than he already had, but Tsuna was, for once, faster than Hibari. He slipped inside, gently pushing Hibari with him, too.

"Who did this to you, Hibari-san…?" Tsuna slid the door shut behind him with his foot, and gently pressed his palms against Hibari's chest.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry…" Tsuna hugged Hibari. "I didn't mean to upset you… I'm sorry I disturbed you… I'm sorry I came here because I couldn't sleep I didn't think about your feelings when I snuck out the window…"

"…You climbed out of your second story window to come see _me_ in the middle of the night because you couldn't sleep…?" Hibari asked, blinking. His bewilderment that Tsuna would risk falling and breaking some kind of bone to visit _him_ momentarily distracted him from the situation.

"…Y-yeah…?" Tsuna blinked, looking up at Hibari.

"…Idiot." Hibari slipped his arms around Tsuna's slim waist. "You could have been hurt."

"I'm sorry." Tsuna buried his face into Hibari's chest.

"Stop apologizing," Hibari said. "And wipe your feet before you come in all the way."

"Ah—Okay." Tsuna smiled and did as Hibari asked him to — he didn't even apologize; he was proud of himself for that.

"How did you even make it here barefoot, anyway?" Hibari asked, tilting his head. "It's freezing outside."

"…I dunno." Tsuna smiled sheepishly. "I've been running on no sleep for like a week. I mean, other than the nap in the Committee Room yesterday…"

"About that." Hibari narrowed his eyes

Tsuna squeaked. He looked up at Hibari, eyes wide and watery. Oh no, was Hibari mad at him? But… But Hibari was the one that brought him to the Committee Room in the first place… Wasn't he?

Hibari sighed, and his lips twitched into a smirk - not quite a smile, not yet. "Just take better care of yourself, Tsunayoshi. All that tutoring you went through won't mean a thing if you start missing your classes."

Tsuna blinked. So… Hibari _wasn't_ mad at him? He smiled brightly, returning Hibari's very awkward embrace (not that Tsuna felt any of the awkwardness). "I'm trying, really… But I can't sleep lately… Every time I fall asleep, I see my ancestor, and he's talking to me… But it never feels like a dream… It feels like I'm being haunted by a really annoying ghost that doesn't know how to be quiet."

Hibari snorted, ruffling Tsuna's hair. "That's an interesting way to describe an ancestor…"

"Ah… Speaking of dreaming…" Tsuna leaned into Hibari's hair ruffling. "…I didn't wake you up, did I…?"

Hibari shrugged. "Not exactly. I woke up before you knocked…"

"Oh…" Tsuna looked down. Without really thinking, he let go of Hibari and place a hand on his arm, rubbing his thumb over one of many circular scars burned into his skin. "…Hibari-san?"

Hibari almost flinched in Tsuna's touch, but he managed to stay still, though his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. Tsuna hardly noticed. He just continued rubbing his fingers over Hibari's scars, gently caressing his marred skin. He didn't say anything more, after uttering Hibari's name. He was curious, he really wanted to know who could do such a thing to Hibari - how could such a thing have even happened to him. These weren't scars from all the fights that Hibari had been in. These were older… These were intentional. He knew scars - not that he'd given any to himself, but being the bottom of the food chain resulted in more than a few scars of his own. He wanted to know, but also felt that he _didn't_ want to know - and he wasn't sure if Hibari even wanted to talk about it. He'd panicked when after he'd opened the door and realized it was Tsuna knocking at odd hours of the night.

"…I told you, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna blinked up at him, confused. Hibari had never once told him about this. He would have remembered something so serious. "… I don't…?"

Hibari sighed, shaking his head. "I told you that you only see what I want you to see."

"…This…?" Tsuna rubbed his thumb over another scar. "…This is what Hibari-san's invincible facade is hiding…?"

"Mmn." Hibari shrugged again. He stepped away from Tsuna, covering his mouth to hide a yawn. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But… Hibari-san…?" Tsuna bit his lip.

"But nothing." Hibari sighed. "Come on, I'll pull a futon out for you…"

"…I don't think I can sleep tonight, Hibari-san…"

"Why not…?"

"…Before I slipped out of my window, I overheard mom and Yamamoto-san talking to Vongola Nono in my living room…" Tsuna bit his lip again, this time for an entirely different reason.

"...The current boss of your family heritage?"

"Yeah. He was saying something about bringing in a new Guardian… That's all I really know…" Tsuna fidgeted. "…But still, it got me really restless and tossing and turning in bed… I'm too antsy for sleep…"

Hibari pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. He gestured for Tsuna to follow him and walked back to his bedroom. Tsuna quickly, and thoroughly, finished wiping his feet on the mat before padding after Hibari. He looked around curiously - the house hardly looked lived in at all, really. It was dark and kind of… It wasn't… Dusty. But it had, an eerie feeling of not being lived in at all. It was, perhaps, just a little _too_ clean. Like it was _preserved_. Yes, that was a good word for it. Nothing was out of place, there were no prints anywhere, and it felt like even Hibari himself was a specter in his own home.

 

Once in Hibari's room, Tsuna dared to breathe. "…Hibari-san, your house feels…"

"Lifeless?"

"…Ah… Yeah…" Tsuna bit his lip, fidgeting.

Hibari nodded and opened his closet. He pulled out the spare futon and laid it down, before diving back into the closet and tossing a pair of sweatpants at Tsuna. "Wear those, and you can go home in your own clothes tomorrow."

Tsuna caught the pants and nervously changed into them - he left his hoodie on, though. Hibari eyed him, gesturing for the removal of the hoodie, too. Tsuna squeaked, but removed it, and even reluctantly took his shirt off, so that he mirrored Hibari - except, without the same scars; he had his own. "Where….Where is your family, Hibari-san…?"

"Don't start, Tsunayoshi." Hibari narrowed his eyes at Tsuna. His body was tense, as if ready to strike.

Tsuna, much to both of their surprise, did not flinch. "Can I do anything?"

Hibari scoffed. There it was. Tsuna trying to _fix_ things. Hadn't he learned by now that he can't just waltz in and play Mr. Fix-It? That sometimes people didn't _want_ fixing? Hibari crossed his arms, peering down at Tsuna with a withering look, just waiting for him to open his mouth and ask if he can help again. His fingers twitched, clenching and relaxing his fist.

Tsuna studied him, head tilted. To him, Hibari looked like a cornered and frightened animal. He looked like he was waiting for an excuse to lash out, to strike something.  Or, maybe, him. "I can't fix anything. I know that. I'm not trying to fix… I just… I wanted to know if there was anything you _wanted_ …. Even if it's just to… Y'know… Get it out."

"Get what out."

"You know." Tsuna fidgeted, picking at his fingers. "I know what it's like, bottling things up and keeping things hidden because there's nothing and everything to say to no one at all."

Hibari stared down at him, waiting for Tsuna to get to his point - that couldn't be all of it, no way. Tsuna just blinked up at him, half expecting to be thrown out into the cold. He figured Hibari wouldn't speak without more pushing, but Tsuna was nervous about it. If he pushed too hard, he might lose something precious that he'd worked so hard to gain - namely Hibari's esteem, his companionship.

"Hibari-san…"

"Don't, Tsunayoshi…" Hibari backed up a step, as if Tsuna had moved to strike him. " _Please_."

Tsuna felt his resolve shake. Hibari had asked him - had said please. Hibari had _moved away from him_. As if _he_ were the herbivore and Tsuna had suddenly and unexpectedly sprouted fangs. He raised his hands to placate Hibari, to try and ease him of his anxiety. Hibari seemed to relax just a little, and Tsuna took that as a chance to move forward - he wasn't going to push Hibari into talking about something he didn't want out in the open, but he couldn't stand there and do absolutely nothing.

"Hibari-san… I didn't…"

Hibari watched Tsuna warily, as if contemplating how best to escape Tsuna's brazen approach. But Tsuna had pacified him just enough that he didn't move. He was still in control of himself enough that he could retaliate if Tsuna did something he didn't approve of, but for now he was curious, if not marginally complacent. Tsuna moved closer - slowly and steadily, so he didn't spook Hibari. When he was close enough, he lifted his hands even farther before resting his palms on Hibari's cheeks.

"It's okay." Tsuna smiled up at him - soft and gentle, as if Hibari weren't the most dangerous person he knew.

Hibari sighed and closed his eyes, letting Tsuna cup his cheeks. Tsuna's hands were still cold from his walk over. "…Stupid…"

"Hm…?" Tsuna tilted his head. He slid his hands from Hibari's cheeks to wrap his arms loosely around Hibari's neck.

"You're stupid." Hibari scoffed, resting his forehead on Tsuna's shoulder.

"Yeah." Tsuna laughed quietly, burying his face in Hibari's chest.

"And cold. Put a shirt on."

"You're not wearing one, either."

Hibari snorted softly and pushed Tsuna away. Tsuna blinked up at him, wondering what the sudden separation was for. "Hibari-san?"

The taller teen just grabbed a long-sleeve shirt from his closet and shoved it at Tsuna. "You're cold."

Tsuna laughed, pulling the shirt on and waving the excess fabric dangling from his hands. "Your shirt is a bit big."

Hibari pointedly looked away from Tsuna - someone being so cute had to be illegal.

"Hibari-san?"

"What."

"Thank you."

Hibari scoffed and pulled on a shirt of his own. "I didn't do anything."

"Mmn, I meant…" Tsuna paused, fidgeting with the extra-long sleeves of the shirt Hibari gave him. "… For letting me see. And not pushing me away."

"I didn't _let_ you do anything. You just happened to show up uninvited."

"I— I know, and I'm sorry." Tsuna reached out and put a hand on Hibari's chest, feeling his heartbeat. "Uhm. I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but… Can I at least ask if this… If it has anything to do with why you're always tense and guarded around my mom…?"

Hibari flinched and kept his gaze away from Tsuna. How had he figured that out…?

"So it does… Your own mom, then…?" Tsuna frowned when Hibari flinched away from him again. He slid forward and wrapped his arms around Hibari's waist, burying his face in his chest. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I pried… And because such awful things happened to you…" Tsuna mumbled into Hibari's shirt. "I won't ask anymore, okay?"

"Eh…" Hibari placed a hand on Tsuna's head and ruffled his hair gently.

Tsuna laughed and rested his forehead against Hibari's collarbone. "… Hibari-san, can I… Stay for the weekend…?"

"….Yeah." Hibari let his fingers slide through soft brown hair. "…You should get some sleep, Tsunayoshi. I don't want you falling asleep in the middle of talking again. Or, God forbid, falling asleep while eating something."

"Mmn…" Tsuna nodded. He yawned. "Good point… That'd be bad…"

 

In the end, the futon that Hibari had pulled out when Tsuna arrived never got used. Tsuna had fallen asleep standing up, with his arms wrapped around Hibari's torso - which made things very awkward for Hibari in terms of getting in bed and getting comfortable with a veritable koala clinging to him. Awkward and difficult. But, Hibari didn't have the heart to pry him off or wake him up - it was plain to see that Tsuna had been working to the bone and doing his very best to harness his ancestral power while keeping up his new academic success at the same time. So, Hibari let him sleep, let him cling for dear life, and settled into bed. He gently pushed Tsuna's soft brown hair out of his face and sighed. It couldn't hurt…

Hibari kissed the top of Tsuna's head, and let his arm fall across Tsuna's shoulders before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep himself.

 

Tsuna didn't have any dreams that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow sorry
> 
> i totally forgot i had this chapter done-ish. 
> 
> There's technically supposed to be 2 more chapters but I'm thinking i'm going to cut one of them and finish it off the next time I update _which is a date that remains to be determined_
> 
> Stress this year has been through the fucking roof. Damn it's rough. Between the semester beginning, getting my wisdom teeth removed, having a fucking panic attack in the middle of a class... because public speaking is a _bitch_ and I had no time to actually prepare myself for it because it was literally the _second day of class_. 
> 
> I can do this. I'm gonna make it through to the end of December 2016. ~~I promised myself I wasn't allowed to get the tattoo I want until I graduate with my Bachelor's.~~
> 
> ANYWAY, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED. THANK SO MUCH WE'RE ALMOST DONE.


	24. this picture paints a thousand words

It wasn't a large affair by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Nana was fairly certain she had room to count the attendees on her fingers. There was, of course, Tsuyoshi and herself - there would be no wedding without the bride and groom. Also, of course, Tsuna and Takeshi were present. Tsuna had invited Hibari after promising that the event was small and highly unlikely to have an unbearable crowd. Reborn was supposed to be the best man, but they weren't sure if he'd make it. Sometimes his unexpected jobs got in the way of prior commitments, but Nana wasn't about to raise her a fuss about it. But, other than that, Nana and Tsuyoshi didn't expect any other guests, and that was fine with them, especially since they'd already made their vows and the ceremony itself was over.

"Look." Nana tugged lightly on Tsuyoshi's arm. "Look at Tsu-kun."

Tsuyoshi followed Nana's gaze and chuckled softly. "Think they're next?"

"Maybe we'd know if we'd had a bouquet to throw," Nana said, giggling. "They're so cute, though."

Hibari swept Tsuna along the modest dance floor. They weren't exactly the most graceful of dancers, and Tsuna stumbled plenty of times. But each time Tsuna stumbled, Hibari caught him and righted him, fluidly continuing their dance. Watching them, it felt as if they'd done this thousands of times before. And, perhaps, in a way they had. They'd trained and moved together almost every day for months on end. Dancing was just another form of training for them.

Nana leaned into Tsuyoshi, smiling as she watched Hibari and her son. She watched Hibari's face soften and his lips form into a smile she was certain he thought no one would notice. She watched his arm tighten just a little possessively around Tsuna's slim waist. Really, did Hibari think he was being subtle?

"Yeah, I definitely think they're next." Nana nodded, smiling. "Even if there was no bouquet to toss."

"Hibari thinks he's being so subtle, doesn't he?" Tsuyoshi asked, laughing. "Anyone can tell just by looking at them."

Hibari, oblivious to the newly wed Yamamoto family's discussing his and Tsuna's display, spun Tsuna around, twirling him out and back in, against his chest. Tsuna's cheeks flushed pink and he tilted his head back to look up at Hibari. His breathing was heavy and his stomach fluttered with the proverbial butterflies. Hibari's lips twitched in a brief smile. He spun Tsuna out again, but he'd grossly misjudged Tsuna's ability to follow his lead - sparring and dancing were vastly different activities. Tsuna's hand dislodged from Hibari's at the last moment. His eyes widened when his fingers slipped from Hibari's and he lost his balance. His feet kept moving and he tripped over his dress shoes, crashing into a stranger. Luckily, no one hit the floor in an unceremonious mess.

"Tsuna!" Takeshi called for his new step-brother, but he couldn't hide the grin on his face - this was classic Tsuna. He was glad that some things hadn't changed even after all the (small) adventures they've had. "Are you okay?"

Tsuna disentangled himself from the stranger, laughing. "Y-yeah, I'm okay."

"Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna jolted and looked up at the owner of the voice that said his name. He blinked when he recognized the face of the current Vongola boss. "Ah… Sorry…"

He hadn't crashed into Timoteo, had he…? No, he was pretty sure the person Hibari had practically tossed him into (okay so maybe that wasn't entirely fair, since Tsuna did let go on accident… But he hadn't expected Hibari to spin him again!) was smaller than the elderly boss.

"It's not me you should be apologizing to." Timoteo chuckled softly, gesturing to a disgruntled and mussed up silver-haired teen that looked about a delinquent as one could possibly look despite wearing a suit and tie (such was the occasion).

Tsuna's gaze drifted from the old man and to the stranger. "Sorry about that! I'm Tsuna."

"I know." The stranger pursed his lips against a scoff, shrinking under Timoteo's withering gaze. "…Gokudera Hayato…"

"Oh…" Tsuna faltered. "I'm sorry."

Gokudera bristled. "Why the f—"

"Hayato."

Tsuna blinked between them, fidgeting awkwardly. This was getting out of hand… He glanced back over his shoulder toward Takeshi and Hibari, as if asking for help. He was at a loss for what to do. They recognized his appeal to them immediately and were at his side in a moment. Tsuyoshi and Nana noticed, too, and walked briskly over to the forming group.

"Timoteo-san." Nana greeted, smiling amiably - nothing was going to ruin her day. There was nothing in the world that could _possibly_ ruin this day for her and her family. "I didn't think you would make it. Is Reborn-san with you…?"

"He'll be here eventually, I think. It would be a shame if he missed such a lovely young woman's special day." Timoteo returned Nana's smile with on of his own, looking every bit a harmless and gentle old man. It was a rather unnerving display, given everyone's knowledge of him. "Congratulations are in order, I see. The new Mrs. Yamamoto?"

Nana flushed and laughed, waving her hand. "Why, thank you."

Tsuyoshi laughed as well. "Well, that gives me way too much pride to be a good thing."

Nana swatted him gently, smiling. Her attention focused on the strange teen and she held out her hand. Gokudera blinked at it as if he didn't recognize the gesture. "You must be Hayato-kun."

Gokudera sniffed derisively at the honorific, but shrunk under Timoteo's gaze. "…Yeah."

"How wonderful! You're such a handsome young man. You'll fit right in with my boys." Nana smiled, and her cheeks practically glowed. "You'll take good care of Tsu-kun, won't you?"

"Er…"

"Moooom." Tsuna huffed. "I'm _fine_ , okay? Besides I'm pretty sure you should be more worried about what would happen to anyone that _does_ try to hurt me. Hibari-san's, like, two steps away from becoming an actual murderer."

"Hey." Hibari nudged Tsuna. "I'm not _that_ bad."

"…Yeah, tell that to the kid you caught trying to take Tsuna's wallet two weeks ago." Takeshi snorted. "The only reason he's not pressing charges against you is because he's terrified that you'll _actually_ kill him."

Hibari looked away, folding his arms while Takeshi kept laughing at him. Tsuna scratched his cheek, smiling. "I'm sorry about them, Gokudera-kun. They're impossible. You'd think _they_ were the ones dating…"

"I think I'd be politely asked off the baseball team if Hibari and I were dating." Takeshi laughed. "Not that I'm in any way at all interested in _you_ , Hibari. That's just weird."

Hibari scoffed again, but he had a weirdly pleased and possessive look on his face. "Good."

Tsuna rolled his eyes but smiled, leaning back against Hibari, who in turn wrapped an arm around his shoulders (otherwise Tsuna's back would have been pressing Hibari's arms into his chest).

"I'm sorry to barge in on your wedding with a…" Timoteo paused, looking at Gokudera. "A gift for Tsuna"— Tsuna's eyes narrowed slightly at what he considered a horrible choice of words— "To ease the search for his Guardians."

"People aren't gifts," Tsuna said, emboldened by Hibari's arm around him. "But if Gokudera-kun _wants_ to be part of our family, he's certainly welcome to join."— Here he stopped to look at Gokudera and smile, because he wasn't the kind to talk about someone like they weren't there. — "If you _want_ to. I don't want you to feel like you're forced into doing something you don't want to do, okay? I don't know how, with all due respect, the current organization runs things, but I, for one, am not going to force anyone to work under or for me unless they _want_ to."

Takeshi whistled. Tsuna always managed to surprise him - or them, if the way Hibari was resting his chin on Tsuna's head and squeezing his shoulder was a sign of surprised pride. Nana bit her lip, worried that the strange - though admirable - display of defiance would meet with retribution. Timoteo just smiled - as if Tsuna's brazen defiance was what he'd been hoping for. Gokudera seemed the most surprised of all - and Tsuna's gut swore to his brain that he saw the other teen's eyes shine, but it was brief, and Gokudera lowered his head, and he said, "…Boss."

Tsuna cringed, waving one hand almost dismissively while his other hand grasped Hibari's arm across his chest. "Tsuna is fine, Gokudera-kun, please. I want to be friends, not your superior…"

"He freaks out when people think he's worth recognition. We're still working on that." Takeshi grinned. "I'm Takeshi! And the brute clinging to Tsuna is Hibari - the possessive boyfriend."

"Hm." Hibari inclined his head slightly, lifting his chin off of Tsuna's head in order to do so.

"Well, I'll leave you to get acquainted." Timoteo lifted a hand and ruffled Gokudera's hair. He turned to Nana and Tsuyoshi. "I did not intend to crash your party. I came to pay my respects and offer my congratulations. And, my gift to you, Nana—" Here he smiled and gestured to the door, where Reborn sauntered in as if he owned the place. "I apologize for making you wait."

Nana's eyes lit up and she waved excitedly to Reborn. She looked up at Tsuyoshi and he laughed, nudging her off to go greet Reborn.

"Go ahead." Tsuyoshi laughed. "You don't need my permission."

Nana positively beamed. She stole a kiss from her new husband before bouncing over to Reborn as carefully as she could - best not to try anything too acrobatic in the heels that matched her wedding gown.

"Reborn-san!" Nana put her hands on her hips and pouted up at him, trying to look scolding. "You're late. You were supposed to walk me down the aisle, you know."

Reborn chuckled, shrugging apologetically. "Sorry, kiddo. But I didn't think you'd want me here covered in blood."

"Gross, good point." Nana shuddered. "I'm just glad you made it at all… Thank you."

"You didn't really think I'd miss your big day, did you?"

"Well… Maybe…~" Nana smiled. "Even Timoteo-san showed up before you did. He… He brought a Guardian for Tsu-kun."

"I know." Reborn patted Nana's head, smirking. "I found the kid running from the small family he was born into. You and Tsuyoshi don't need to worry about him betraying Tsuna to the Ninth or anyone. I picked him up myself. He's a good kid, if a little explosive in temperament. I was picking him up when the Ninth was visiting you about him."

"Oh?" Nana tilted her head. "That's why you were gone when Timoteo-san came to visit…. But why is he saying Hayato-kun had been his decision?"

"He was," Reborn said. "The Ninth suggested him as a possibility, and I went to go get him. If we hadn't gotten to him, he would have had to go back to his father or he'd get himself killed."

"Oh my…" Nana covered her mouth. "The poor dear… Well, Tsu-kun said that ultimately it's Hayato-kun's decision, but he's always welcome to stay. He'll have a family with us, if he wants it."

Reborn actually smiled. "You're a good woman, Nana. Tsuyoshi is a lucky man. And Iemitsu is a God damned moron."

"Reborn-san!" Nana swatted him gently. "Language!"

"Sorry, sorry." Reborn chuckled, patting Nana's head again. He started walking toward Tsuna's group, slinging an arm casually over Nana's shoulders. She giggled and walked along with him.

"You've been gone for a long time, you know."

"I know." Reborn shrugged with one shoulder. "But I did keep in touch with Tsuna, at least. I had to keep track of his training somehow."

Nana smiled, relaxing at that. "That's good. I mean, I kind of wish you'd kept in touch with me, too, but it's far more important that Tsu-kun gets your attention than I do. I guess I've been used to lack of communication, but Tsu-kun… You've been more a father to him in the months you've been here than all the years Iemitsu had. Thank you for that. I'm not sure what I would have done without you."

"Well, you'd probably not be here today in that beautiful gown, for one."

"Probably."

Tsuyoshi greeted Reborn when he and Nana were close enough. "You're fashionably late, as always, Reborn."

"Reborn!" Tsuna tore his attention from his friends and Gokudera. "You made it! Mom was starting to get worried."

"Shh, Tsu-kun~." Nana waved her hand, laughing.

Tsuna smiled, waving at Reborn slightly. "The dreams have finally stopped. You asked me in your last message, but then things got really busy."

"That's good to know." Reborn ruffled Tsuna's hair before his eyes fell on the arm that still curled across Tsuna's chest and noticed just how close Tsuna and Hibari had gotten. He smirked at them. "It's about damn time, you two. I should hope we won't have to hear about anymore monkey bar incidents, hm?"

Tsuna's face burned crimson and Hibari scoffed, but he looked away, too, with just the lightest dusting of pink on his cheeks. Takeshi almost fell over with laughter, nearly howling, which embarrassed Tsuna even more. He put his hands on his face and his voice had a whining tone to it when he spoke, "God, that's so embarrassing… Why'd you have to bring that up…?"

"You were laughing after it happened, you know." Takeshi snorted.

Tsuna swatted at him, face still red. In an effort to pull himself back together, he turned to Gokudera. "Uhm. There are still dances going…?"

Hibari grunted, tightening his hold around Tsuna, who laughed in return. "Well, that rules me out, then. My apologies, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera shrugged his shoulder slightly. "I don't want to dance."

"No?" Takeshi grinned. "But it's a wedding!"

Gokudera stared at Takeshi, jaw tensing. "No."

"Please?" Tsuna hedged, awkwardly trying to prevent _something_ from starting, though he wasn't entirely sure what. He hadn't counted on Gokudera being quick tempered - and the quick tempered generally didn't get along with Takeshi simply because Takeshi almost never let things get under his skin. "It's our parents' wedding…"

Gokudera pursed his lips, but reluctantly inclined his head. "For the Tenth."

"Great!" Takeshi laughed, taking Gokudera's hand and pulling him off to the floor. "Sorry in advance for my two left feet."

"Tch."

Tsuna watched them, his bewildered look turning to amusement. "Life just got a lot more interesting than I'd ever intended."

"Stock up on the Aleve." Hibari snorted.

"Ah! Hibari-san made a joke."

"No, I didn't." Hibari pinched Tsuna, who winced. "I can already tell that new friend of yours is going to be loud."

"You're just antsy about new people coming in and disrupting your routine." Tsuna laughed. "Give him a chance. I feel like that's all he needs… But why are you so worried, Hibari-san~?"

"My small animal is getting popular…"

"Oh, relax. You'll always be the favorite."

"Charming. I hope Takeshi trips over his laces and they fall on their asses."

Tsuna snorted. "Like we did the first time we tried?"

"Eh…"

"And what are you two kids up to?" Tsuyoshi put his hands on their shoulders. "You two should be on the floor."

"We're watching Takeshi-kun terrorize the new Guardian." Tsuna tilted his head to look up at his new step-father. "And Hibari-san wants to see Takeshi-kun trip and fall."

"Do you now?" Tsuyoshi laughed, ruffling Hibari's hair. "That'd certainly make your new friend mad."

"I hope they'll get along…"

"It'll be fine, kiddo," Tsuyoshi said. "If need be, you have a Guardian that can forcibly pull them apart."

Hibari clucked his tongue and Tsuna smiled. Clearly he would have to ask Hibari directly, if Takeshi and Gokudera needed to be pulled apart. Tsuna's gaze slid from his step-father and boyfriend over to his step-brother and new Guardian. A smile alighted on his face, tugging at the corners of his lips and threatening to split his face into a grin. Watching the two other teens on the modest, portable dance floor, Tsuna thought that there'd never really be a need to forcibly separate the swordsman-in-training from the new Guardian.

From Tsuna's point of view, Takeshi looked absolutely delighted, laughing softly and chatting Gokudera up as he led his silver-haired dance partner across the floor, who looked like he was grousing and grumbling and altogether hating life. Gokudera scowled and grit his teeth. It looked like he kept trying to give Takeshi scathing, intentionally hurtful remarks, but Takeshi looked totally not at all bothered in the slightest.

"Ten bucks says Takeshi-kun's asking if Gokudera-kun likes baseball," Tsuna said, smiling a bit as he leaned against Hibari.

"I'm not losing any more money to you, Tsunayoshi," Hibari scoffed, wrapping his arms around Tsuna, resting his chin on the brunet's head.

Tsuna watched Takeshi lean in really close and whisper something in Gokudera's ear, and he saw Gokudera's cheeks flare up crimson. He had to hide a smile behind his hand. Takeshi seemed to really like this guy that wanted to… Well, Tsuna's pretty sure Gokudera wanted to beat Takeshi's face in. Before Gokudera could beat Takeshi away, Takeshi twirled the silver haired teen out—the same motion that Hibari had tried with Tsuna that had failed miraculously. Their one dance ended, and Gokudera scrambled to disentangle himself from Takeshi. He dusted his suit off with jerky motions, as if Takeshi had infected his clothes by touch. Tsuna found himself surprised when he suddenly had a silver-haired puppy practically _hiding_ behind him (well, more like behind _Hibari_ since Tsuna was still snuggling into Hibari).

"…Are you…" Tsuna blinked, tilting his head enough to peer behind himself and Hibari. "Are you _hiding_ , Gokudera-kun?"

"No." Gokudera huffed, shoving his hands in his blazer pockets.

"Oi, Takeshi, what did you _do_?" Hibari snorted. "You're making Tsunayoshi protect his new Guardian."

"I didn't do anything!" Takeshi laughed at Hibari. "I just offered to show him around town, since he's new an' all!"

"Yeah, no," Hibari said, arching an eyebrow.

"Hibari-san is trying to say that a harmless offer like that wouldn't turn Gokudera-kun into a cherry," Tsuna covered his mouth to hide a smile. Really, what had Takeshi said?

"Alright, alright." Takeshi laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I told him I thought he looked good."

"Pervert," Gokudera huffed from behind Hibari and Tsuna.

 

 

"Tsuyoshiiii," Nana called, waving her new husband over as she walked toward him and the kids. "I want to dance~. Reborn-san said he'd take some pictures for us."

"Yeah?" Tsuyoshi grinned. "Sounds great."

Tsuyoshi stepped away from Tsuna and Hibari, still wearing his face-splitting grin. He slipped his arm around Nana's waist, escorting her to the dance floor. He swept his bride along across the floor, laughing with her and reveling in Nana's bright smile. Sunlight danced off of Nana's white dress, and reflected off the silver-white sequins, making them sparkle in the mid-afternoon. Between the glimmer of her gown and the bright charm of her smile, Nana looked positively radiant. Tsuyoshi was absolutely certain that he was, indeed, the luckiest man in the entire world.

"Nana, has anyone ever told you?" Tsuyoshi slowed his dance with Nana, cupping her cheek.

"Told me what?" Nana asked, leaning into his touch.

"That you're the most beautiful woman in the entire world," Tsuyoshi said as he leaned in, touching his forehead to Nana's. He brushed their noses together and stole a chaste kiss.

"Oh, Tsuyoshi~." Nana giggled. "You're just saying that because I'm all dolled up in my wedding gown and makeup."

Tsuyoshi chuckled softly, stealing another kiss. "I mean it. And I have to be the luckiest man in the world, marrying you."

"You _are_ a lucky man." Nana returned his kiss, trying not to laugh. She was a lucky woman—before Tsuyoshi, she thought for sure it would just be her and her little boy alone against the world. "Lucky that Reborn-san isn't secretly plotting how to kill you, anyway."

Tsuyoshi _did_ laugh. He danced Nana around the floor, still snickering a little. "There will be plenty of time for that later, I guess."

"Tsuyoshi?"

"Yeah?"

 

"I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for now. This isn't the ending was initially hoping for. 
> 
> But I had to get this done before I drove myself crazy. 
> 
> So I hope we're all good. 
> 
> I _do_ plan on writing drabbles/one-shots for things that don't fall directly into the main timeline and shit. and/or things post-story. But those will not be scheduled and they'll come out when they come out. If they do. School is stressful. Life is stressful. 
> 
> _how do adult i need an adult to teach me how to adult_


End file.
